New Jamaican CPL franchise to stringently support growth of local grassroots cricket

Kingsmen Sports Enterprise, the American investment group that recently acquired one of the two new Pakistan Super League franchises, will soon unveil a Jamaican team for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League season, marking the island’s return to the competition for the first time since the departure of the Jamaica Tallawahs.

Under the terms of the franchise acquisition, Kingsmen must adhere to stringent stipulations that mandate active support for the development of grassroots cricket across Jamaica. While the new team’s official name has not yet been released, company officials confirmed that community-level initiatives will be central to the franchise’s operations.

Fawad Sarwar, the Pakistan-born, U.S.-based entrepreneur who heads Kingsmen, described the venture as “an economic engine” intended to position Jamaica as “a global hub for cricket, culture and sportainment.” Sarwar’s portfolio already includes the Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen in the PSL and the Chicago Kingsmen in Minor League Cricket in the United States.

The CPL’s reintroduction of a Jamaican franchise is expected to rekindle local enthusiasm for the Twenty20 tournament and, through Kingsmen’s compulsory grassroots obligations, channel resources into youth programs, coaching clinics and facility upgrades that target the island’s emerging talent pool.

CPL organisers have not disclosed the length or specific performance metrics attached to the grassroots clause, but insiders stress that compliance will be monitored closely, ensuring that the commercial excitement generated by the new team translates into tangible benefits for community cricket.

Jamaica last hosted a CPL side in 2022, and the league’s return is already being hailed by regional administrators as a pivotal moment for both the sport’s commercial appeal and its developmental pipeline.