Innovation, inspiration and relentless entertainment... here is why we think the CPL is worth making time in your diary for
The Caribbean Premier League’s 2022 season is not too far away… and we can’t wait.
The carnival of cricket, official brand partners of Rario, the world's first cricket NFT platform, returns with four weeks of loud, proud, exciting T20 ahead of us.
There are other franchise tournaments around the world, but nothing is quite like the CPL, and we love it...
The Caribbean Kings
As we all know, the Caribbean is a hotbed of T20 innovators. Many of the most influential players in the format’s history hail from the West Indies.
Sunil Narine changed the way wrist-spinners approach their work in the short formats, and transferred the pinch-hitter role to T20.
Dwayne Bravo is one of the most decorated men to have ever played the game, taking calypso cricket around the world.
Andre Russell is perhaps the best T20 player of all-time, capable of huge sixes and important wickets.
And then there is Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss and the most prolific batsman in the format with 14 centuries more than anyone else in 20-over cricket.
All of these men have featured prominently in the CPL for years, and have been crucial in the ongoing success of the tournament. If you want entertainment, the CPL is where it’s at.
Andre Russell is a CPL great [Getty Images]
The overseas stars
The CPL has routinely engaged some of the best overseas players in the world.
This year, the likes of Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Mohammad Amir and Wanindu Hasaranga will light up the competition (and keep an eye out in particular for Rario’s latest player pack drop involving ambassadors Du Plessis and De Kock), while in the past players such as Ricky Ponting, Dale Steyn and Mahela Jayawardene have all been involved.
It is a fabulous melting pot of cricketing nations.
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The progressive outlook
While other franchise leagues have stuttered and stumbled over establishing a women’s competition to run alongside their own, this year the CPL have done the right thing.
A three-team tournament - featuring Barbados Royals, Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders - will take place between August 31 and September 4, with the games taking place on St Kitts.
It is only a short competition, but it lays the foundations for quick growth in years to come, and is a necessary step in the journey towards gender equality in sport.
CPL organisers have never been scared to try new things at their tournaments, and another innovation in 2022 is the 6ixty, an exhibition curtain-raiser to the main event.
The 6ixty is a 10-over tournament, with curious new rules including fans getting the chance to vote for a random free hit and teams triggering an extra powerplay over by hitting two sixes in the first 12 balls.
For some old-school cricket stalwarts, it sounds like a fever dream. But we love the fact the CPL’s willingness to experiment and draw new crowds to the game.
Fans add colour and character to the CPL [Getty Images]
The soundtrack
There’s a reason the CPL calls itself “The Biggest Party In Sport”. Go to a game and you’ll be met with a wave of colour, character, and just a hint of chaos.
The sounds of a Caribbean Premier League matchday - horns, steel drums, excited voices, the thwack of bat on ball, thumping bass - are unmistakable.
It is the perfect soundtrack for a wild night at the cricket.
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The mayhem
Mad things happen in the CPL, and that’s why we’re such big fans.
When you tune into Caribbean Premier League games, you come to expect the unexpected.
Think of Narine bowling a wicket maiden in a super over, for Guyana Amazon Warriors against Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel in 2014, or Russell scoring a century and taking a hat-trick in the same game for Trinbago Knight Riders against Jamaica Tallawahs.
There was the night Darren Bravo hit five sixes in one Russell over, or when St Kitts & Nevis Patriots chased down 241 with seven balls to spare.
We could go on and on. The CPL is a frantic feast of short-format brilliance, and it’s so much fun to watch.
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