CPL 2026: Schedule, Squads, Indian Stars & Where to Watch in India

The Caribbean Premier League is, by some distance, the most reliably entertaining T20 league outside the IPL. Sun-soaked afternoon games, raucous local crowds, six franchises that all genuinely believe they can win it, and a player roster stacked with names that Indian fans have known for years — Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer. From August 7 to September 20, 2026, CPL Season 14 runs across the Caribbean and the United States, with 39 matches, a relegation-free format, and a final that has, in recent years, become one of the most-watched T20 deciders of any league outside the IPL.

This hub is your one-stop pre-tournament guide: the schedule, the six franchises, the Indian-fanbase players, where Indian fans can watch (FanCode is the proven home), and the Dream11 / fantasy market overview that has historically made CPL one of the strongest non-IPL fantasy leagues for Indian users.

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Tournament at a glance

• Tournament window: August 7 to September 20, 2026
• Format: 6 franchises, double round-robin, 39 matches total (30 group + 3 knockouts + opener / playoffs spillover)
• Group stage: Each team plays the others twice (home and away)
• Playoffs: Top 4 — Qualifier 1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2, Final
• Host nations: Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, with selected fixtures in the United States
• Broadcast (India): FanCode (proven home for the last several seasons)
• Defending champions: Trinbago Knight Riders (2025 title)

The CPL has been running since 2013 and remains the only major franchise league where the tournament moves between host islands during the group stage — fans in St Kitts get to host, then fans in Barbados, then fans in Saint Lucia, in a rotating roadshow that gives the league its distinctive character.

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The six franchises

Franchise	Home venue	Captain (2025-26)	Key Indian-fanbase names
Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR)	Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad	Kieron Pollard	Sunil Narine, Akeal Hosein
Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW)	Providence Stadium, Guyana	Imran Tahir	Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (SKN)	Warner Park, St Kitts	Andre Fletcher	Sherfane Rutherford
Barbados Royals (BR)	Kensington Oval, Barbados	Rovman Powell	Quinton de Kock (overseas), Hayden Walsh Jr
Saint Lucia Kings (SLK)	Daren Sammy Cricket Ground	Faf du Plessis	Roston Chase, Daren Sammy (head coach)
Antigua & Barbuda Falcons (ABF)	Sir Vivian Richards Stadium	Nicholas Pooran	Andre Russell, Imad Wasim

Three points of context for Indian fans:

• TKR are the Knight Riders Group sister franchise to Kolkata Knight Riders. Shah Rukh Khan's team in the Caribbean. They have won six CPL titles — by some distance the most-decorated franchise in the league.
• Antigua & Barbuda Falcons is the rebranded Antigua franchise (formerly known as Hawksbills, then Antigua & Barbuda Tridents in earlier seasons). The 2026 edition will see them under the Falcons identity, with new ownership.
• Barbados Royals are the Caribbean franchise of the Royals Group — sister team to Rajasthan Royals.

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Provisional schedule

The full 39-match grid is expected from CPL HQ in late June 2026. The headline dates and indicative weekly grid below are based on the league's pre-season briefing and FTP commitments.

Phase	Window	Action
Opening week	Aug 7 – Aug 13	Tournament opener at Queen's Park Oval (Trinidad) — TKR vs ABF traditional curtain-raiser
Trinidad leg	Aug 7 – Aug 16	Multiple home games for TKR
Guyana leg	Aug 17 – Aug 24	GAW home matches at Providence
St Kitts leg	Aug 25 – Aug 31	SKN at Warner Park
Barbados leg	Sep 1 – Sep 7	BR at Kensington Oval
Saint Lucia leg	Sep 8 – Sep 13	SLK at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground
Antigua / Playoffs	Sep 14 – Sep 20	Final group games + Qualifier 1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2, Final

The Final is scheduled at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua — the league's default playoff venue in recent seasons. Selected weekend fixtures may also be played in the United States (Lauderhill, Florida) as part of the league's ongoing US expansion strategy.

A note on starts: most CPL fixtures begin at 6:00 PM AST (3:30 AM IST the next morning), with weekend afternoon double-headers starting at 2:00 PM AST (11:30 PM IST). Indian fans who follow the league live mostly do so through the late evening / early morning window.

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Indian-fanbase players

Although CPL is a Caribbean league, Indian fans have followed it loyally for years — primarily because of the West Indian and overseas players who are also IPL regulars. Here is the 2026 rundown.

Kieron Pollard (Trinbago Knight Riders)

Forty years old in 2026 and still going. Pollard retired from international cricket years ago but remains the premier T20 hitter in CPL — and the captain of TKR. For Indian fans, he is the Mumbai Indians legend in different colours.

Nicholas Pooran (Antigua & Barbuda Falcons)

The current West Indies T20I captain. Pooran is one of the most dangerous left-handed strikers in world cricket. ABF is his home franchise. Lucknow Super Giants in IPL.

Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders)

The mystery spinner who, at 38, is still the fulcrum of TKR's bowling and a top-six pinch-hitter to boot. KKR connection is the obvious Indian draw.

Andre Russell (Antigua & Barbuda Falcons)

Russell has scaled back internationally — he retired from West Indies T20I duty in 2025 — but remains a feared T20 finisher, and Pooran's power-hitting partner at ABF. KKR connection.

Shimron Hetmyer (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

The Rajasthan Royals left-hander. Guyana's favourite son. One of the most beautiful timers of a cricket ball in any T20 league.

Romario Shepherd (Guyana Amazon Warriors)

The MI Cap Indian fans have come to know — Shepherd has been a 2024 IPL pickup and a regular face. He's a senior pace-bowling all-rounder for Guyana.

Faf du Plessis (Saint Lucia Kings, captain)

Faf, after his RCB years, has captained Saint Lucia Kings in 2025 and is expected to return for 2026. Indian fans have followed him through his RCB chapter.

Quinton de Kock (Barbados Royals, overseas)

QdK is the headline overseas signing at Barbados Royals.

For our broader cross-league signings tracker, including IPL crossover, see the domestic cricket category.

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Where to watch (India)

In India, CPL 2026 will be available on FanCode — the digital streaming platform that has been the league's exclusive India broadcast partner for the last several seasons. FanCode covers every ball, both group stage and playoffs, with English commentary and selective Hindi coverage on premium fixtures.

The simplest options:

• FanCode standalone subscription: approximately ₹200-250 for the full tournament tour pass
• FanCode app on Smart TV: all major Smart TV platforms (Samsung, LG, Sony, Mi TV) carry FanCode apps
• Casting from mobile: standard Chromecast / AirPlay support

In the UK and US, the tournament is broadcast on Sky Sports (UK) and ESPN+ (US). In the Caribbean, CPL is on Flow Sports — the league's home broadcaster.

Indian start times (typical):

• Weekday evening match: 3:30 AM IST (Tuesday-Friday late nights — early Wednesday-Saturday IST mornings)
• Weekend afternoon match: 11:30 PM IST (perfect for late-night living-room viewing)
• Weekend evening match: 3:30 AM IST

The weekend late-night double-headers — first match at 11:30 PM IST and second match at 3:30 AM IST — are the format most Indian CPL fans build their viewing routine around.

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CPL fantasy: the Dream11 angle

CPL has historically been one of the strongest non-IPL fantasy markets on Dream11 in India. There are a few reasons:

• Player familiarity: Indian fantasy users already know Pollard, Pooran, Narine, Russell, Hetmyer from the IPL. The cognitive overhead is low.
• High-scoring matches: CPL pitches in Trinidad and Guyana have historically been bat-friendly (after the format changes around 2018), with frequent 180+ totals. That means runs and wickets, both, are accessible.
• No fixture saturation: With one or two CPL games on most days, fantasy users can focus on team-building rather than juggling four games at once.

If you build CPL Dream11 teams, the framework that works season after season is:

• Top order anchor: one of Pooran / Pollard / de Kock / Hetmyer in the captain / vice-captain rotation
• Mystery spin pick: Narine (TKR) or Akeal Hosein (TKR) for the cheap-credit wicket-taker
• Pace finisher: Russell or Romario Shepherd for the death-overs hitting + late wickets combo
• Local heroes: every CPL season has 2-3 lesser-known West Indian players who break out on home tracks. Build budget room for those.

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Storylines we are tracking

1. Can TKR three-peat?

Trinbago Knight Riders won the 2025 final after a difficult group stage. They have retained Pollard, Narine, Akeal Hosein and the spine of the squad. The path to a three-peat is built around home games at Queen's Park Oval and the league's most experienced T20 captain.

2. Pooran-Russell at ABF

Pooran captains, Russell finishes. ABF has spent two seasons rebuilding its squad and 2026 looks like the year it all clicks. For Indian fans, watching Pooran in his prime in conditions that flatter left-handed power is the highlight reel of the entire tournament.

3. The US fixtures

The CPL has been carefully growing its US footprint — selected fixtures at Lauderhill, Florida have brought the league to a North American audience. The 2026 schedule is expected to feature 2-3 US-based weekend fixtures, with implications for fixture pricing, fan-base growth, and West Indies cricket's long-term commercial story.

4. The PSL ball-tampering fallout

Late in 2025, the PSL ball-tampering controversy pulled three Pakistani internationals into a disciplinary process. None of the three (Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman) typically feature in CPL — the Pakistan-CPL crossover has historically been limited — but the broader PSL-CPL talent flow has been affected by the fallout, with several PCB-contracted overseas signings withdrawing or being unavailable for the August-September window.

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How CPL fits into the August-September global calendar

The CPL window deliberately overlaps with The Hundred 2026 (which runs July 21 to August 16). Several West Indian players double up between the two — particularly the men's side. Pollard, Russell, Pooran and Narine have all featured in The Hundred and CPL in the same year before.

The CPL also overlaps with the closing stages of Bangladesh's Test tour of Australia and the early stages of Australia's Test tour of South Africa. For multi-format Australian and South African players, this creates rotation pressure — one reason the 2026 CPL might see slightly fewer high-profile Australian / South African signings than in some past seasons.

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Why CPL 2026 matters for Indian fans

The CPL is what Indian fans get to watch when the IPL is over and the next India series is still a few weeks away. It is the only major T20 league with the right blend of familiar faces, manageable fixture cadence, and the kind of accessible Dream11 / fantasy market that builds engagement. After two months of Hundred and CPL action overlapping, the calendar finally pivots back to India in late September — but the August-September window is genuinely entertaining, and 2026's edition has the season-shape to be one of the more competitive in years.

For more international previews, see our domestic cricket category.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When does CPL 2026 start? The Caribbean Premier League 2026 begins on August 7, 2026, with the traditional opener at Queen's Park Oval, Trinidad. The Final is scheduled for September 20, 2026, at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua.

Where can I watch CPL 2026 in India? FanCode is the exclusive India broadcast partner for CPL 2026. Every match is available live on the FanCode app and website, including all group-stage and playoff fixtures. A FanCode tour pass typically costs around ₹200-250.

Who are the defending champions? Trinbago Knight Riders, captained by Kieron Pollard, won the 2025 CPL title — their sixth title in the league's history, by far the most decorated franchise.

Which Indian-fanbase players are in CPL 2026? The big names include Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders), Nicholas Pooran and Andre Russell (Antigua & Barbuda Falcons), Shimron Hetmyer (Guyana Amazon Warriors), Faf du Plessis (Saint Lucia Kings, captain), and Quinton de Kock (Barbados Royals, overseas).

What time do CPL matches start in India? Most weekday evening fixtures start at 3:30 AM IST (the morning after, by Indian calendar). Weekend afternoon double-headers begin at 11:30 PM IST and 3:30 AM IST — making the late-night living-room viewing window the standard CPL routine for Indian fans.