BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is currently awaiting an official correspondence from the organisers of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to know if approval would be granted for the hosting of this year’s event even in the twin-island Federation.
With COVID-19 still running rampant throughout the region, the League may be held at a single destination as was the case last year, when organisers staged the event in Trinidad and Tobago, where there are two international venues - the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium and the Queens Park Oval.
Confirmation on the interest of hosting this year’s League in the Federation came from Minister of Sport Jonel Powell, who told SKNVibes Sports that a decision could be made at any time.
“We have been in communication with CPL in terms of hosting the 2021 tournament, and we hope that we will be able to confirm, one way or another, where we stand in a short order,” the Minister said.
Powell revealed that a failed bid was made in 2020 to have the season played at Warner Park, but a number of positives were taken away from that attempt.
Among the measures he outlined was that of how to stage an event within a bubble setting.
“We would have in a failed attempt to host CPL last year established some significant protocols as it relates to receiving visiting teams and officials and being able to create a bubble,” Powell explained.
Even though there is an interest in staging the event, it would have to be done at a single location, that being the Warner Park Cricket Stadium, which is unlike Trinidad and Tobago.
However, Minister Powell explained that one of the proposals put forward was that each team would have their own practice facility, as there are at least seven grounds on the island.
“Even in terms of our bid last year for CPL, one of the things we had was that we were in a position to make available, which no other destination is able to, is to have a separate ground for teams to be able to do training while in quarantine,” disclosed Powell.
The organisers were locked into a contract with Trinidad and Tobago last year to have the Semi-finals and Finals played in the twin-island Republic, which meant that it would have been logistically improbable to stage the League season elsewhere.
According to Powell, it is better for the organisers to have the entire tournament played in one location to minimise any outbreak of the virus or the logistics of having to move and be quarantined.
“We are looking to see the options that we have to see if we are in a position to do it,” he added.
The Minister hinted that they are also considering the event for 2022 following the Government’s past and current handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
