Read all about Caribbean Premier League

After the tremendous success of the inaugural season of the IPL (Indian Premier League) in India, several cricket-playing nations started their own leagues to promote the Gentlemen’s game and give fans non-stop entertainment. By doing this, they gained a lot of attention, with international cricketers taking part alongside young guns in the 20-over format for their respective teams. With the IPL, it became a trend, especially a season celebrated like a festival in cricket-loving nations like India, where it took place every year. Seeing this, the trend started to grow in Caribbean countries too, where cricket is also considered a religion due to having legendary players like Viv Richards and Courtney Walsh, who were considered among the best cricketers in the world.

In 2013, Cricket West Indies announced their cricketing league, named the Caribbean Premier League, evolving from the Caribbean Twenty20. However, T20 domestic cricket first appeared in the West Indies in 2006 with the privately organized Stanford 20/20. Regardless, it ended in 2009 when the sponsor, Allen Stanford, was arrested for fraud. This led the West Indies Cricket Board to start the CPL in 2013. It was then expected that the new Caribbean Premier League would likely comprise six Caribbean city-based franchises as opposed to the current territorial setup, with the majority of the players coming from the West Indies.

The matches are played between six teams and are divided into a group stage and a knockout stage. In the group stage, each team plays ten games, three of which are to be played at home. This unusual format occurs because all six teams are co-located at a single playing site for five sequential matches of the tournament, after which the whole tournament moves to a new location for five more games (and so on). Six stadiums are used, each a home field for one of the teams. The playoff stage includes two semi-finals and a final to determine the winner of the tournament. All three of the elimination playoff games are played at Queen's Park Oval and Brian Lara Stadium.

Teams

The CPL tournament will feature competition between six franchises with 15 contracted players each, including a maximum of five international players and four players under the age of 23. Each team has one local and one international franchise player.

Seasons over the years

So far, 12 seasons have been played in the Caribbean Premier League. Out of the six teams, one team has won the competition four times, one team has won three times, one team has won the competition twice, and two teams have won the competition once.

Best teams

Trinbago Knight Riders are the most successful team in the history of the Caribbean Premier League, followed by Jamaica Tallawahs, who have won three times, while Barbados Tridents have won two titles. The current champions are the Guyana Amazon Warriors, who defeated Trinbago Knight Riders by 9 wickets to win their first CPL title.

Winners so far from the start

2013

The inaugural edition was won by Jamaica Tallawahs, who defeated Guyana Amazon Warriors in the final by 7 wickets.

2014

The second edition of the tournament was won by Barbados Tridents in a rain-affected game after defeating Guyana Warriors by 45 runs in the final. It was the second time that Guyana failed to emerge as champions despite reaching the final for the second time.

2015

The third edition of the CPL was won by a new team named Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, who beat the previous season's winner, Barbados Tridents, by 20 runs.

2016

It was the first time in CPL history that a team won two titles. Jamaica Tallawahs won their second title after winning the inaugural edition, while Guyana Amazon Warriors failed to emerge as champions after reaching the final for the third time.

2017

The 2017 edition of the CPL was won by Trinbago Knight Riders for the first time after defeating St Kitts & Nevis Patriots by 3 wickets.

2018

Knight Riders became the second team and the first to win back-to-back titles in CPL history after defeating Guyana Amazon Warriors in the final by 8 wickets. It was the fourth time that Guyana failed to win the final after playing in it for the fourth time.

2019

The 2019 season of the CPL was won by Barbados Tridents, making them the second team to win the tournament twice in CPL history. Meanwhile, Guyana again failed to emerge as champions, losing in the final for the second consecutive season.

2020

Trinbago Knight Riders became the first team to win three titles by defeating St. Lucia Zouks in the final by 8 wickets.

2021

The Patriots became a new team to win the title, breaking the continuous streaks of former champions after defeating Saint Lucia Kings by 3 wickets.

2022

Jamaica Tallawahs equaled the record of the Knight Riders by winning their third CPL title after defeating their opponents by 8 wickets.

2023

The last edition was a special one, as it was won by Guyana Amazon Warriors, a team that had lost five finals in the CPL. This was their first win since the inception of the tournament.