Indian millionaire Vijay Mallya has bought Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Barbados Tridents.
The 60-year-old said he met with Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart recently and secured government’s support in the venture.
“I’ve acquired the team. It is a joint venture if not in the classical sense of the term. I will, of course taken a lead role and that is because I understand the Twenty20 competition,” he told the Mumbai newspaper in India.
Maylla’s acquisition of the Tridents follows a similar move by Indian businessman and movie star, Shah Rukh Khan who purchased Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel last year. The season will start in June.
Mallya will pay a US$2 million franchise fee and also fund Tridents players’ salaries but is confident of recouping the investment.
He said the money can be recovered as Kensington Oval Barbados is one of the best stadiums in the Caribbean.
Tridents is one of the most prominent teams involved in the three-year old CPL — the Caribbean’s premier T20 championship.
Tridents won the 2014 CPL title to qualify for the Champions League T20 in India.
