Punjab Kings’ acquisition of CPL side St. Lucia, leads to name change from Zouks to Kings

The Caribbean Premier League franchise Saint Lucia Zouks have been renamed to Saint Lucia Kings to get it closer in recognition to its sister franchise in the Indian Premier League, the Punjab Kings. The team now also sports a new logo, totally different from the previous one.

The team, in a media release, confirmed the news and wrote an explanation behind it. It said, "The new name and logo are consistent with the KPH Dream Cricket brand while still capturing the essence of Saint Lucia through the name and national colours of Saint Lucian Flag," the release said.

KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited acquired the ownership rights of the franchise in 2020. It is the same company that owns the Punjab Kings in IPL and that franchise also changed its name from Kings XI Punjab to its current name of Punjab Kings before the start of the 2021 season.

"The brand name and monogram, lion in the team's logo stand for exuberance. While the blue epitomises the sky and the sea, specifically the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea which encircle the country, the roaring lion monogram infuses vigour and vibrancy,” the release further added stating that the main identity of Saint Lucia as the country has been retained.

Daren Sammy, the former St. Lucia captain who quit this year to become the mentor and Assistant Coach of the team while speaking on this occasion said, "I love the logo and I love the new name, and I truly hope that the name can inspire our players to play like the true Kings that we are.”

Earlier, after IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals bought majority stakes in the Barbados based franchise of the CPL, its name was also changed to Brabadois Royals from Barbados Tridents.

The 2021 edition of the CPL will take place between August 26 and September 15, at Warner Park in St Kitts & Nevis.

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