The schedule for the 2025 Caribbean Premier League has been announced, with the tournament to be held from August 14 to September 21.
Six countries will host the CPL this year: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago. A total of 34 games will be played with the six teams turning out in 10 league games each. The knockouts for the 14th season will be played in Guyana.
The tournament will begin with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (SKNP) taking on Antigua and Barbuda Falcons (ABF) in the opener.
A quick glance at the schedule and the lopsided nature of the itinerary will come to light. After playing the first game of the CPL this season, SKNP will play their second match the very next day, against Guyana (GAW). They will play their first five games of the league within a week of the competition beginning, with their sixth game scheduled for August 24. However, their next four matches are scheduled over 16 days, with their performance in the first week likely determining how their edition turns out.
While SKNP will be busy in the first week, GAW would have played only one game in this duration, with their second match only scheduled for August 22. Barbados Royals (BR), St Lucia Kings (SLK) and Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) will play two games each in the first week.
The second week gets hectic for SLK, who play five matches between August 23 to August 31. TKR will also heavily be in action, finishing their first eight matches by September 3, playing just two games in the last 11 days of the league stages.
The last ten days of the league stages will have either BR and GAW play daily. Barbados have six matches scheduled between September 4 to September 14, while Guyana also play six in this period, including playing on back-to-back days twice.
Except for ABF, all five teams have days when they will play successive matches, again making it slightly advantageous for Antigua, who will have longer recovery time before their games. Spreading out their matches throughout the tournament also allows the team to regain any lost momentum, which becomes tougher if playing regularly.
Teams who play most of their games in the second half of the 2025 CPL will also be aware of the exact net run rate scenarios ahead of the knockouts, while the teams that have played earlier will need to catch up with the NRR on the few games they will have left.
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