A team of local and international investors-led USA-based CMG Companies have bought the ownership of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team Barbados Tridents.
Indian businessman Vijay Mallya was the previous owner of Barbados Tridents who took the ownership in 2016. The Tridents players haven’t received their full payment yet for 2018 season. Moreover, just ahead of the beginning of 2018 CPL, the Tridents players received their full payment for the 2017 season.
The new owner, CMG, operates franchise restaurants, hotels and real estate across the USA. They were the past owners of another CPL team, Jamaica Tallawahs. Talking about their present involvement in sports, CMG has sponsorship deals with NBA teams.
Meanwhile, Barbados Tridents finished at the last position (sixth position) in the 2018 CPL points table.
Here is Barbados Tridents’ CPL performances history
| Season | The final position in the points table | Ultimate position |
| 2013 | 3rd | Semi-finalists |
| 2014 | 1st | Champions |
| 2015 | 1st | Runners-up |
| 2016 | 5th | 5th |
| 2017 | 5th | 5th |
| 2018 | 6th | 6th |
Barbados Tridents announced their marquee player for the new season
On the other hand, Barbados Tridents’ new owners have already announced the marquee player for the upcoming CPL season. Windies captain Jason Holder has been chosen as the marquee player of Barbados Tridents for the 2019 CPL. The 27-year-old Caribbean all-rounder is playing for this side since the inaugural CPL (2013).
The Principal of CMG, Manish Patel spoke about their CPL return, “Selling our ownership rights of the winning Jamaica Tallawahs held from 2014-2016 was the right move for us as a business, but we missed being involved in the Region and in CPL. When the chance to purchase the Tridents came along we were delighted, especially with the opportunity to bring good strong local partners onboard. We can’t wait to get started at enhancing the profile of this team on and off the field and to bringing a comprehensive sports entertainment package to Barbados. We will work very hard to make Barbadians proud of their team.”
The Tridents are in safe hands
Meanwhile, the COO of CPL, Pete Russell, believes that the Tridents are in safe hands. He has also added that the issues of Tridents are past now.
He said, “The issues that the Tridents have faced in recent months have been well documented and are being fully addressed as a priority. We have been working tirelessly to find a solution and we believe that this international-local investor collaboration is the ideal solution. This is a group of passionate cricket fans and astute business minds who have experience of successfully running a CPL franchise. The Tridents are in safe hands and the issues the franchise has faced are a thing of the past.”
2019 CPL will run from 4th September to 12th October. It will be the seventh edition of CPL where six teams will participate. These participating teams are Barbados Tridents, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, St Lucia Stars, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Jamaica Tallawahs and Trinbago Knight Riders. The three-time CPL winners Trinbago Knight Riders will participate in the 2019 CPL as the defending champions.
On 22nd May, the 2019 CPL Players Draft will be held at the Gfinity eSports Arena in London.