Sports

CPL 2026 FAQs – New team, new captains, and next-gen Pollard and Pooran

By cpstestersofficial@gmail.com · August 7, 2026 · 6 min read

The 14th edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will kick off on August 7, with Jamaica Kingsmen taking on Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in Kingstown. Here’s everything you need to know about the new season.

So, the biggest party in cricket is back?

Yep, the CPL will start on August 7 and will run until September 20. The top four sides in the league phase will qualify for the playoffs, which will be held at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. Just like the IPL, the top two teams will get two shots at the final.

You mentioned Jamaica Kingsmen. New team?

Correct. They are the newest CPL franchise and will become the second Jamaica team to feature in the league after Tallawahs, who have been defunct since 2023. Kingsmen are owned by Fawad Sarwar, a Pakistani businessman based in the US, whose PSL franchise Hyderabad Kingsmen made the final earlier this year.

Jamaica Kingsmen have a strong Pakistani flavour to their side, with seven of their players having links to the PSL franchise. Saim Ayub, Maaz Sadaqat and Hunain Shah, the brother of Naseem Shah who will turn out for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, are among Jamaica’s signings.

Barbados Tridents seem to be making a comeback as well.

Yes, Barbados Royals have been rebranded as Barbados Tridents, the name under which they played the first eight seasons of the CPL before the renaming in 2021. The rebranding will also extend to their team in the Women’s CPL, which has four teams now.

Royals Sports Group, which took over the franchise in 2021, has agreed to the government becoming a minority co-investor in the franchise, but majority ownership will remain with Royals.

Okay, how many countries are hosting the tournament?

CPL 2026 will be played in a record-equalling eight nations, with fixtures in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Who are the captains?

Nicholas Pooran will continue to lead Trinbago Knight Riders after leading them to the title in the previous season. Imran Tahir, 47, will captain Guyana Amazon Warriors once again after inspiring them to the Global Super League (GSL) title earlier this month while Patriots have also retained Jason Holder as their captain after he guided LA Knight Riders to their maiden MLC title recently.

Local Jamaican Rovman Powell has taken charge of Kingsmen, while Tridents, St Lucia Kings and Falcons will all have new captains. Australian allrounder Chris Green, who is a familiar face in the CPL, will take over from Powell at the Barbados franchise while Moeen Ali will replace Imad Wasim as Falcons captain.

West Indies’ Test captain Roston Chase will replace David Wiese as Kings’ captain and will reunite with Daren Sammy, who is also West Indies’ all-format coach.

Will Pollard be in action?

Most certainly. He has only retired from the IPL and continues to be in action in other franchise T20 competitions, including the CPL. He is approaching 15,000 runs in T20 cricket and has a chance to become the top run-getter in T20 cricket once again. Jos Buttler snatched his record on Wednesday. In the recent MLC, Pollard showed that he still has it, clattering a 17-ball half-century for MI New York against Washington Freedom. During the MLC, Pollard also became the second player after Chris Gayle to hit 1000 sixes in T20 cricket.

It remains to be seen whether Pollard is available for the start of the CPL, given he’s currently with MI London as their head coach in the men’s Hundred.

Meet the next-gen Pollard and Pooran.

Another Pollard – Jakeem – is likely to make his CPL bow for Tridents after impressing for West Indies during the U-19 World Cup earlier this year. This 18-year-old Pollard is a left-arm seamer and has a sharp inswinger in his repertoire. He picked up six wickets in four games at an economy rate of 3.85 during the U-19 World Cup.

Also meet the new Pooran – Kamil – who has also played for Trinidad and Tobago in domestic cricket. A right-hand top-order batter, Kamil has played eight first-class games and four List A matches so far, but is yet to play T20. He is on Kings’ books for this season.

How many overseas players can be part of the XIs?

In CPL, each franchise must play at least one player from the breakout league in every game. This gives the franchise the option of picking five overseas players in their XI, including the breakout player, just like previous seasons.

Who are the overseas players to watch out for?

As always, Tahir is a must-see in the CPL. He continues to set the competition alight with his fizzing googlies and fun celebrations. He is 23 strikes away from 600 T20 wickets and could get to the landmark in this CPL.

New Zealand allrounder Glenn Phillips will team up with Tahir at Amazon Warriors after recovering from a side injury. He will return to the CPL after six years and will also have a job to do with the ball, especially on the spin-friendly surfaces in Guyana.

New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert will return to Kings while Australia allrounder Nikhil Chaudhary is gearing up for his CPL debut with Patriots following stints in the MLC, Hundred and IPL. Pakistan left-arm wristspinner Sufyam Moqim, who was the Player of the Tournament in PSL 2026, will turn out for Falcons.

Any lesser-known local players to keep an eye on?

Left-arm wristspinner Vitel Lawes isn’t a lesser-known player anymore, having been fast-tracked into West Indies’ ODI team without any experience at senior cricket. The 19-year-old could provide Kingsmen’s attack with a potent point of difference.

Zachary Carter, a left-hand top-order batter who was Lawes’ U-19 batchmate, is another exciting local talent. He was picked by Tridents during the draft.

Is there a clash with any other T20 tournament(s)

Of course. The scheduling conflict has affected overseas player availability especially. CPL 2026 will overlap with the Hundred, the inaugural season of the European T20 Premier League, and the knockouts of the Lanka Premier League.

How can fans outside the Caribbean follow the action?

Every match of CPL 2026 will have ball-by-ball commentary right here on Cricinfo. Fans in India can watch the CPL on JioStar (linear TV) or FanCode (digital). North America and UK viewers can watch it on Willow and TNT, respectively. Sky NZ will be broadcasting in New Zealand and tapmad in Pakistan and Bangladesh

Cricinfo is part of the JioStar network

Deivarayan Muthu is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo

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