FOUNDER of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Ajmal Khan is assuring regional cricket stakeholders that the Twenty20 (T20) competition is a long-term venture built on a sustainable platform.

Khan, who is chairman of the Barbados-based merchant bank Verus International, has insisted that though the CPL is an expensive venture, the attraction of the package is destined to be a success on the global market.

“The only way I have an interest in doing anything is if I know I can sustain it. The only way this is going to be successful, salable and sustainable, is if we put together a partnership where the world will see this and not just the Caribbean market.

“A lot of money is going to be spent to get there, but I’m confident that if we execute the plan it is going to be something that is sustainable,” the Nigerian-born Khan told reporters shortly after the CPL’s official launch on Tuesday at the Sandy Lane Country Club in Barbados.

He added: “We have to be able to bring this together and put it to a global audience. It’s not a one-man show… I don’t believe in that. I know I need all the help I can get.

“I look on this as a long-term investment and I think we all know what the cost could be for putting this together. The cost is substantial, so it’s going to be in the tens of millions of dollars. It is significant, but I’m happy to do that and I’m willing to do that because I believe in this. It has to be profitable,” he said in a passionate tone.

The West Indies is not new to the sight of wealthy entrepreneurs investing in cricket, as was the case when former billionaire Allen Stanford started the Stanford 20/20 in 2006.

After Stanford’s fall from grace and subsequent imprisonment, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) were forced to fund the rebranded Caribbean T20 (CT20) tournament for four years, starting back in 2010.

Now that the CPL will replace the CT20, WICB vice-president Whycliffe ‘Dave’ Cameron said the regional body is now at a financial advantage and implored all stakeholders to help make the new tournament a success.

“We (the WICB) have been spending in excess of US$3m a year to put on the CT20 and weren’t able to generate revenue commensurate with that. Here we have found a partner who will bring the requisite level, bring the cash and find the partners and still pay us a fee to get the opportunity to do so. It is now our job as West Indians and cricket lovers to ensure that the event will be a success,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Cameron noted that the region’s tourism industry, in particular, is set to benefit massively from the staging of the competition between July 29 and August 26.

“The CPL is important not just for cricket, but for the entire Caribbean. It is staged at a time when traditional tourism is lowest — in the summer. The idea is to get the non-traditional tourism to grow… It is very important how the organisers have scheduled the tournament in the summer months as against January, which is already in the middle of the tourism period,” he explained.

At the official launch, it was announced that Jamaica, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, and St Lucia are the front-running territories from which organisers will choose franchise teams.

The organisers also named regional captain Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard, Marlon Samuels, Christopher Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, and Sunil Narine as franchise or icon players for this year’s tournament.

CPL Chief Executive Officer Dirk Hall also said that prominent international players are being courted to participate in the event.

Khan, a financier who lived in England and North America before moving to Barbados in 1997, promised that with his favourable reputation at stake, he will not be leaving players, officials and regional administrators out in the cold.

“The important thing in my life is my reputation. I have a track record of what I’ve done in my life, and hopefully that will lend itself to knowing that I’m not a person who reneges on anything I do. The CPL will ensure that every single player is paid.

“Within the judicious duty of the WICB they needed to make sure I had the whereitall and the means to do this (stage the CPL). I think they have done the steps of due diligence on me to know,” he said smilingly.

With a sterner countenance, the Verus International chairman continued: “It is criminal where I hear of situations where people play and give their hearts and are left holding the bag, for lack of a better term.”

Khan likened cricket in the West Indies to religion and identified that as a reason to invest locally instead of anywhere else, while stating confidently that international players will be attracted by the region’s lush scenery, entertainment and relaxed atmosphere.

“We have to produce a product that is going to be unique, different and something that people want to come to. I realised this (cricket in the West Indies) was a religion.

With the entertainment factor and everything else coupled to it I thought this was something we could add value to. We are very fortunate to live in an environment where you are naturally gifted with beauty.

“I’m not prejudiced to other countries (hosting T20 competitions), but players getting the chance to come to the Caribbean for four to six weeks? They’d take less (salary) to come here!” he said.