Franchise cricket in West Indies 

Nowadays, the scope of franchise cricket is getting wider, more and more countries/ associations are introducing it as it provides immense benefits to the cricket fraternity. It provides the right platform to all the players and hence it helps in bringing out the best talent even from the grassroot level. Moreover, it helps in providing adequate employment opportunities to ex cricketers, who can fill in shoes for the roles like coaches, trainers etc. Overall, it is a win-win situation as everyone is immensely benefited.

West Indies Cricket Board too introduced franchise cricket in 2013, popularly known as Caribbean Premier League. Total number of teams participating are six and the format of the tournament is double round robin and playoffs. The tournament is held annually and domestic players get a great chance to exhibit their talent. 

Teams: 

Stats in CPL so far

• Most successful teams: Trinbago Knight Riders-4, followed by Jamaica Tallawahs- 3
• Current champions- Guyana Amazon Warriors 
• Winner of inaugural tournament: Jamaica Tallawahs
• Most runs- Johnson Charles(2855) 
• Most wickets: Dwayne Bravo (130)

Squads in CPL 

Antigua & Barbuda Falcons

Men’s Team: Jewel Andrew, Sam Billings, Teddy Bishop, Fakhar Zaman, Jahmar Hamilton, Brandon King, Chris Green, Fabian Allen, Justin Greaves, Imad Wasim, Roshon Primus, Shamar Springer, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kofi James, Joshua James, Mohammad Amir, Kelvin Pitman, Hayden Walsh

Barbados Royals

Men’s Team: Rovman Powell, David Miller, Jason Holder, Dunith Wellalage, Rahkeem Cornwall, Justin Greaves, Alick Athanaze, Quinton de Kock, Joshua Bishop, Keshav Maharaj, Maheesh Theekshana, Nyeem Young, Obed McCoy, Ramon Simmonds

Women’s Team: Laura Harris, Trishan Holder, Cherry Ann Fraser, Chamari Athapaththu, Chinelle Henry, Hayley Matthews, Afy Fletcher, Georgia Redmayne, Rashada Williams, Djenaba Joseph, Qiana Joseph, Aaliyah Alleyne, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Shabika Gajnabi

Guyana Amazon Warriors 

Men’s Team: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Dwaine Pretorious, Moeen Ali, Junior Sinclair, Shai Hope, Azam Khan, Gudakesh Motie, Imran Tahir, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Shamar Joseph

Women’s Team: Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Sheneta Grimmond, Stafanie Taylor, Shemaine Campbelle, Natasha McLean, Ashmini Munisar, Shabika Gajbani, Shabnim Ismail, Shreyanka Patil, Karishma Ramharack, Shakera Selman, Kaysia Schultz

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

Men’s Team: Mikyle Louis, Evin Lewis, Rilee Rossouw, Sherfane Rutherford, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Mayers, Sikandar Raza, Johann Layne, Odean Smith, Dominic Drakes, Andre Fletcher, Tristan Stubbs, Joshua Da Silva, Tabraiz Shamsi, Nuwan Thushara, Sheldon Cottrell, Anrich Nortje, Oshane Thomas, Ryan John 

Saint Lucia Kings

Men’s Team: Faf du Plessis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Roston Chase, David Wiese, Khary Pierre, Matthew Forde, Johnson Charles, Heinrich Klaasen, Noor Ahmad, Alzarri Joseph, McKenny Clarke 

Trinbago Knight Riders

Men’s Team: Jason Roy, Keacy Carty, Tim David, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Nicholas Pooran, Akeal Hosein, Mark Deyal, Waqar Salamkheil, Jayden Seales, Terrance Hinds, Josh Little, Ali Khan

Women’s Team: Kyshona Knight, Britney Cooper, Mignon du Preez, Marie Kelly, Deandra Dottin, Zaida James, Orla Prendergast, Samara Ramnath, Kycia Knight, Shunelle Sawh, Lee-Ann Kirby, Anisa Mohammad, Shamilia Connell, Fran Jones, Carena Noel

6ixty by CPL

6ixty is an even shorter version of cricket, which is also conducted by CPL and WICB. The rules of this format are slightly different from a usual cricket game. The main purpose of 6ixty was to inculcate the habit of power hitting among players. General public/spectators are more inclined towards the shorter version of the game as it is less time consuming and more exciting, hence 6ixty is a format introduced with the sole purpose of entertainment. Following are the basic rules of this format: 

• 10 overs per innings 
• Maximum time duration of each innings in 45 minutes. If the time limit is exceeded, the fielder team will loose one fielder in the last over
• A team is all out if 6 wickets are gone. 
• First five overs will be bowled from one end of the pitch and the next five from other end
• Batting team can get another power play over if they manage to hit two sixes in the first two overs.

The rules of 6ixty are quite vague as compared to a normal cricket game, but that is the cultural shift in the game and everyone needs to accept the fact that cricket is all about power hitting now, even the test cricket has a new term attached to it- Bazball!