Guyana and Barbados to Host CPL Finals in 2025-2026

In 2026, the CPL final will be held in Barbados at Kensington Oval for the first time. In contrast, Guyana will host the championship game in 2025, making it the fourth year in a row that Providence Stadium will host the CPL championship. The franchise cricket competition was held in Guyana in 2022 and 2023. Before handing over the reins in 2025, they will make it four in a row.

Barbados had their team win the CPL twice: in 2014 and 2019 (when they were known as the Barbados Tridents). The CPL finals have never been held on the island. But in 2026, Kensington Oval in Bridgetown is set to receive the honor. In a press release issued on Friday, the CPL revealed that it had reached a one-year agreement with the two sites to host the final for the following two years.

Barbados Royals’ Stunning Victories

Since the first CPL competition, Trinidad has hosted it six times: twice at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain (2013 and 2015) and four times at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba (2017-2020). The only other Caribbean host nation was Saint Kitts and Nevis, which hosted the CPL final at Warner Park in Basseterre in 2014, 2016, and 2021. The Barbados Royals have won the Caribbean Premier League twice, most recently in 2019. 

Plans for the 12-year-old regional franchise T20 cricket league were presented today by CPL CEO Pete Russell.”Guyana and Barbados have been amazing partners for CPL over the last 12 years, and it is really exciting to be able to announce that they will be hosts for the finals in 2025 and 2026, respectively,” Pete Russell, the CPL CEO, remarked. “We would like to thank the governments of both Guyana and Barbados who have agreed to play host to the conclusion of CPL.”

Warriors vs Kings in CPL Final

The Warriors will now compete for the title against the St Lucia Kings on October 6. The Warriors’ bowling lineup shared the wickets, with Shepherd finishing with 3/35 and Moeen Ali delivering a pivotal spell with the ball in hand, spearing in 13 dot balls and taking up two wickets for 2/24. As the Royals’ innings sputtered to a close, there was some wild running in the scramble for late runs, resulting in two runouts.

The Warriors confidently approached the total, winning the match and securing a spot in Sunday’s final in 15 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali smashed the ball all over the place at the top of the order, with Gurbaz going for a quick 40 off 18 balls with four sixes and Ali finishing unbeaten on 44 off 35 balls to conclude a great all-round performance in an important match.

The winning run, which came from 33 unused balls, dashed the Barbados Royals’ title ambitions, while the Guyana Amazon Warriors cruised to a comfortable victory, allowing them to win back-to-back CPL crowns. The Saint Lucia Kings are waiting for what promises to be an exciting conclusion to the 2024 competition.

Final Thoughts

The CPL finals will take place in Guyana and Barbados in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Barbados Royals, the two-time CPL champions, last won in 2019. CPL CEO Pete Russell expressed pleasure in the relationships with Guyana and Barbados. The Guyana Amazon Warriors will meet the Saint Lucia Kings in the 2024 final on October 6, following their victory against the Barbados Royals, thanks to great performances from Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali.