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The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise, St. Lucia Zouks, has changed its name to St. Lucia Kings with less than four weeks to go for the competition's first match. The team is owned by K.P.H. Dream Cricket Private Limited's Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zinta and Karan Paul, who also operate the Punjab Kings in the IPL.
The two franchisees will share branding and other assets in a bid to strengthen ties between their brands. St. Lucia Kings' newly minted logo also looks identical to the Punjab Kings, although in a blue shade. Commenting on the change, Darren Sammy, the team's assistant coach and mentor, said in a statement:
“I love the logo and I love the new name. It’s a pleasure to be associated with the Kings Franchise and I truly hope that the name can inspire our players to play like the true Kings that we are!”
St. Lucia Kings, like their IPL counterparts, are yet to win a CPL title. They had their best performance last year in the tournament's eight-year-history as they lost to the Kieron Pollard-led Trinbago Knight Riders by eight wickets in the final.
St. Lucia Kings to play their first match on August 27
This year, the Kings will kick off their season against the Jamaica Tallawahs on Friday, August 27. The side, led by former South African captain Faf du Plessis, also includes the likes of Andre Fletcher, Rahkeem Cornwall, Wahab Riaz and Matthew Wade in their ranks.
Although the Punjab Kings' fortunes have changed only slightly since their rebranding, St. Lucia Kings will hope for much better results and a possible continuation of the momentum they built last year.
Full squad for St. Lucia Kings:
Keemo Paul, Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Javelle Glen, Keron Cottoy, Jeavor Royal, Kadeem Alleyne, Alzarri Joseph.
Overseas Players: Faf du Plessis, Matthew Wade, Samit Patel, Wahab Riaz, Usman Qadir
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