CPL 2026 Draft Order Revealed

CPL 2026 draft revealed [Source: @AntiguaFalcons/X]

Days after the Caribbean Premier League 2026 schedule and fixtures alongside new venues were revealed, the Cricket West Indies have officially announced the draft order for this season of the tournament.

The new and exclusive draft order has specifically been catered for the new team, Jamaica Kingsmen, which will be the seventh franchise among the six premier franchises that used to take part in the competition earlier.

Jamaica Kingsmen Given Special Privileges By CPL

As per the latest release, Jamaica will be given the chance to recruit Andre Russell and Rovman Powell unchallenged in the draft for the month of May, which technically adds these two players to Jamaica's squad.

On Thursday, the CPL announced that the 2026 edition will also mark the start of a new three-year contract cycle alongside new player acquisition and draft rules to improve the league's competitive balance to support emerging talent.

This means that any suggestion of an auction is ruled out, and the draft system will be carried out to ensure fair practices with team balance, especially for a team that is currently in inception.

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Kingsmen Ready To Expand In New Season

Notably, the Jamaica Kingsmen is owned by Fawad Sarwar, a Pakistani businessman based in the United States. Sarwar also owns Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Pakistan Super League 2026 and has expanded his reach to the Caribbean to further expand his interest in global cricket.

For the unaware, the Kingsmen will be replacing and re-engaging in the CPL tournament to be the second Jamaican team after the Jamaica Tallawahs, who have been defunct since 2023.

Jamaica will have the chance to pick the first three players in the draft unchallenged, which means that no other franchise can interrupt their picks. However, their picks will be restricted only to Jamaican players, which includes Andre Russell and Rovman Powell.

Adding to the rulebook, Jamaica will only be allowed to select a maximum of one player from any franchise's 2025 squad, which means that they will have to choose between Powell and Brandon King.

CPL 2026 Player Draft Rules Explained

After the Jamaica Kingsmen are given the leeway to make the first choices, each franchise will then make picks based on last season's standings and can also exercise the right-to-match option on four players from their most recent squad.

In case they lose a Jamaican player in the Kingsmen's initial picks, they can also go for five. Importantly, all of these franchises, except for Jamaica, have been permitted only one retention before the draft, who also must be a breakout player from last season, which means they should have high MVP points.

CPL 2026 Squad Consistency And Overseas Players Rule

Franchises can also sign five overseas players through direct negotiations, of whom a maximum of four can be allowed to play in the playing XI for any given match, just like the IPL or the PSL.

Each squad is said to boast 17 players, consisting of nine senior West Indies players, five overseas players, and three breakout players. The tournament is set to be an exciting one, and the season will start on August 7 (August 8 in India and other Asian countries).

The tournament will be inaugurated at St. Vincent and will run until the final at Kensington Oval in Barbados on September 20, where Barbados will be hosting a CPL final for the first time ever.

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