The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is in the middle of a fresh controversy after franchise owner Gohar Shah, brother of Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen, criticized the management of the West Indies T20 franchise competition.
He questioned whether the Caribbean Premier League was focusing more on business rather than the development of West Indies cricket. Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise owners came under criticism after the list of foreign players for the 2026 CPL season was released. Meanwhile, India regained the ICC men’s T20I No. 1 ranking after their second consecutive win over Zimbabwe.
Gohar Shah raised questions on CPL’s priorities
The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has attracted a number of top international stars for the upcoming 2026 edition, but Gohar Shah has questioned the direction of the league going forward and claimed it is failing to take advantage of its biggest opportunity.
The Multan Sultans owner said the CPL is being run with a short-term mindset rather than building a strong future for West Indies cricket. He believes that the main focus of the CPL is on making quick money rather than helping develop local cricket, as they have brought in too many foreign stars.
Shah feels that the CPL could have become a unique attraction for cricket fans around the world, but poor planning and decision making prevented the league from taking full advantage of it. Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi opened up on the infamous pitch-tampering controversy of 2005.
CPL will never be successful: Gauhar Shah
Gohar Shah posted on
CPL will never be successful because of the way it is being managed and operated. It’s all about quick short-term money for them. I don’t think they give priority to the interests of West Indies cricket.
This is the only league that has a PSL vs IPL proxy fixture, but due to the smaller… https://t.co/WWAJctFsC3– Gohar Shah (@goharsha95) July 25, 2026
Top foreign stars join CPL 2026
Recently, Antigua has included Moeen Ali, Kusal Perera, Milind Kumar, Tajinder Singh, S. Khan and Sufiyan Muqeem signed. Barbados selected Quinton de Kock, Chris Green, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, George Linde and Daniel Sams as their overseas stars for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League 2026.
Guyana added experienced stars such as Imran Tahir, Glenn Phillips, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Dwayne Pretorius. Jamaica included Pakistani players Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Hunain Shah and others in their overseas group for the upcoming season.
St Kitts and Nevis strengthened their squad with Naseem Shah, Dasun Shanaka, Waqar Salamkhil, Wanindu Hasaranga and Nikhil Chaudhary. St Lucia brought in Noor Ahmed, Tim Seifert, Mahesh Theekshana and Charith Asalanka for the upcoming CPL 2026, while Trinbago signed Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Matthew Britzke, Usman Tariq and Amashi de Silva.
Caribbean Premier League 2026 to be played in 8 countries
The Caribbean Premier League 2026 is set to be one of the biggest editions in the history of the tournament. This season’s matches will be played in eight Caribbean countries. The tournament will be held in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
The seven-team competition will begin on 7 August and conclude with the final on 20 September. However, there will be tough competition for overseas players in the CPL as it will run alongside The Hundred, the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) and the knockout stages of the Lanka Premier League (LPL).
