Millions set to view Vincy Premier League

The potential viewership of the inaugural Vincy Premier League (VPL) has been put at 80 million, with the Indian population being the target.

An undertaking of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association Inc. the VPL, which would be played on a T/10 format, is set to bowl off May 22 at the Arnos Vale Playing Field.

However, the matches would not be played in what can be considered normal cricket time.

At Monday’s launch of the VPL, President of the SVGCA Inc. Dr Kishore Shallow, said that the timing of the matches was a strategic.

“We are going to be starting at an unusual time, the first game will be at 8:30 a.m. and the last game at 12:30 a.m.

… The reason for that is to capture who we believe will be our main audience, the Indian population,” Shallow outlined.

The SVGCA Inc. has forged a partnership with Indian company Dream 11, which has an audience of about 80 million, and whose prime time is 6:30 in the evening, Indian time.

Shallow disclosed that the idea of hosting the VPL was hatched when he was approached by a colleague who does some work for Dream 11.

“They asked us if it was possible for us to offer them some content of any cricket at this point… And, together we started knocking heads and explored how this was possible, and we came up with this T/10 franchise league,” Shallow related.

Apart from the live television/streaming, the VPL will also have live commentary, live online scoring, real time statistics, social media updates and match reviews and previews.

The VPL will consist of six franchises: La Soufriere Hikers, Dark View Explorers, Salt Pond Breakers, Fort Charlotte Strikers, Grenadines Divers and Botanic Gardens Rangers., all named after tourism sites here in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Each of the six franchises has been assigned a marquee player, with each drafting 12, a complement of 13 players. Players will all be given a match fee.

Three matches will be played each day, from May 22 to 29. The semi-finals are slated for May 30, featuring the top four franchises from the preliminary round.

An exhibition match, the third place play-off and the grand final, take place on May 31.

The presentation and closing ceremony follow the final.