By Azad Ali
Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR)
financier, Venky Mysore said that
the franchise will take a hit for this
year’s Caribbean Premier League
(CPL) because of the fact there will
be no spectators allowed at matches
and the economic downturn
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The chief executive officer of
Red Chillies Entertainment, the
owners of the franchise said, “we
are really excited that Trinidad is
hosting CPL 2020 in its entirety.
The TKR fans are in for a treat
and we look forward to the support
TKR always gets from fans in
Trinbago.”
He said without crowds in both
venues, the revenues will take a
big hit, in addition businesses
have suffered and that will reflect
in lower sponsorship revenues as
well.
“We realize that TKR will incur
significant losses but there is a
strong desire for us to see cricket
take center stage again in Trinbago,”
he said.
Caribbean Life, July 17-23, 2020 33
Caribbean PMs hold ‘audience’ with
West Indies captain Jason Holder
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By Nelson A. King
The scale of the West Indies’ triumph
over England in the first Test and growing
optimism in the Caribbean that the
Test sleeping giant is finally stirring was
epitomized this week when West Indies
captain Jason Holder had an “audience”
with three of the region’s prime ministers,
reports the British Daily Mail.
The Mail said on Wednesday that Dr.
Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada
and Mia Mottley of Holder’s home island
of Barbados joined the impressive West
Indies captain on the Mason and Guest
radio show in Barbados.
“It was great to be on with them and to
see they are 100 per cent behind us, and
are paying such close attention to it,” said
Holder. “I was amazed and blown away.
“The support we’ve got, not just from
the prime ministers but the people of
the Caribbean, has been tremendous,”
he added.
Holder is refusing for now to think
about the prospect of becoming the first
West Indies captain to win a series in England
since 1988, according to the Mail.
It said even a draw in either Test is
enough to see them retain the Wisden
Trophy.
“I haven’t talked to the guys about history,”
he told reporters. “The series is still
on the line.
“Winning the first Test match is just
one piece of the puzzle,” he added. “We’ve
got two other games to play, and we don’t
get ahead of ourselves.”
But, according to Agence-France
Presse (AFP), Holder was well aware of
the significance of last week’s success to
cricket fans back home, a point reinforced
when he spoke to the three Caribbean
prime ministers.
“This COVID period has really put a
dampener on things for the world and
things like cricket, especially in the Caribbean,
can unify the Caribbean,” said
Holder.
“It is really good to see how many
hearts we’ve pleased in the Caribbean so
far,” he added. “But, in order to take it a
step further, they all want us to win this
series.”
Last week, AFP said the West Indies
marked international cricket’s return
from the coronavirus lockdown with an
impressive four-wicket win over England
in the first Test at Southampton.
That means they need just one more
victory in the two remaining matches,
both at Old Trafford, to clinch the series,
AFP said. The second Test started on
Thursday.
For decades, West Indies have struggled
to live up to the all-conquering side
of the 1980s that included Gordon Greenidge,
Viv Richards and top-class fast bowlers
such as Malcolm Marshall and Curtly
Ambrose, AFP said.
It said the Caribbean side have not won
an away series against any of the seven
sides currently ranked above them since
1994/95, when they beat New Zealand.
West Indies’ Jason Holder Associated
Press / Mahesh Kumar A., File
Trinbago
Knight Riders
to take pay cut