From Underdogs to Kings: TKR’s Road to Glory

While not expected prior to the season start, one word can describe the season Trinbago Knight Riders just wrapped up, dominance. One day when the history of cricket is to be read aloud, TKR achievements will be spoken in awe. Trinbago Knight Riders did the unimaginable when they clinched their record fifth title in the premium cricket competition in the Caribbean region, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). 2025 was a good year for TKR while both the fans and pundits had their doubts about the possibility of the fifth title being realistic. 

As if the fifth CPL title wasn’t enough, this landmark marks the ninth overall trophy for TKR as far as T20 leagues they’ve participated in. This massive success makes them not only a dominant franchise in the region but also one of the best in the world too. For fans, players, and coaching staff the latest achievement is not just another trophy in the cabinet. It is a testimony to the approach everyone involved with the franchise took toward winning. Trinbago Knight Riders have a legacy which was without a doubt built on the culture which is layered with desire to achieve excellence. 

For all of you who are not fans, and haven’t watched the games of this great franchise, TKR has a unique motto in the world of sports: Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo. It brings shivers down the spine whenever it is shouted by the fans, and in translation it is a simple phrase: Play, Fight, Win. At first, it was only a mantra used by players on the field. In no time, on the back of the team’s great achievements are spread across the world. Thanks to it, TKR is one of the teams in cricket with the most recognizable identity. 

In the last decade, TKR has grown so much as a sports team, that they’ve become one of the franchises recognized all over the world. You could argue that they’re no longer sitting in the shadow of their brotherly franchise the Kolkata Knight Riders. Thanks to the results they’ve achieved recently, and we are not only talking about the fifth Caribbean Premier League title, they have served as an inspiration to many teams all over the globe both the well established ones and the newly created. 

TKR is an amazing example of a team that showed that it has a vision. With a clear vision of the place the team wants to go, the trophies came as a logical aftermath. Inspired by their brotherly franchise the Kolkata Knight Riders, TKR took winning to another level. They’ve been an example of how an T20 franchise needs to operate. Firstly, they are a cricket franchise. But, a unit on the field is not enough in the global setting of modern cricket. This team has been impactful, blessed with integrity both on and off the field, and one that led the course for others with clear innovation. The season behind us showed how the team benefited from their cutting edge analytics, approach to the new generation of Caribbean cricketers, and building an experience that bodes well with both their fans and neutral audience. Trinbago Knight Riders are the best example of how a modern cricket franchise needs to be run. 

The funny part is how they’ve managed to win the title after being cursed before the year started. While we’re not naive enough to believe that curses exist it was a great source of fun for fans during the season. You’ve all heard about the Trinbago Knight Riders Stake Partnership, right? The TKRs biggest sponsor is the worldwide renowned online casino and sportsbook brand, Stake. The joke about the curse comes with the online meme that every team or an athlete that signs a Stake sponsorship deal starts immediately losing. 

The meme got more fuel when Stake signed the Canadian rap superstar Drake to a deal. Drizzy is well known for his ability to curse teams and players, so when netizens put two and two together the jokes started to arise. Also, at the moment when the joke started making circles all over the web, another Stake.com sponsored team, Everton, was going through a slump, Israel Adesanya lost his UFC title, and later on the same thing happened to Alex Pereira. We’re not even going to address the Stake’s F1 Sauber team, which had little success even before signing a deal. 

When you connect smallish dots as these into one massive internet meme it is hard for fans to look past it in this era where all of us are always on our smartphones and the world wide web connection. Yet, not even a curse as powerful as this one couldn’t stop the Trinbago Knight Riders on their path to another Caribbean Premier League title. All jokes aside, it took a lot of effort, sweat, tears, and potentially blood to make everything go to plan for TKR. The season was long, difficult, and at times, it appeared that TKR will not be able to take it all to the finishing line. 

The entire season fit into one last match. The entire campaign was memorable for the TKR, but it would mean little if they failed to win against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL 2025 Final. The road to the final saw the TKR winning back to back matches convincing themselves they’re destined to take it all the way. The sheer determination with which they entered the duel was enough to lead them all down to the last run and the final wicket taken. The fans have felt the energy that the team has put forth, and have been behind the entire final match as well throughout the season. Thankfully, they had a team that delivered, and thanks to the TKRs performance throughout the season and especially in the final match they were left in awe of their team’s deliverance. 

Trinbago Knight Riders built their season’s success on dominant bowling. Heavy discipline from the kick off was always there to be recognized. During the power play their bowlers knew how to keep things tight. Not even in a single moment has it been allowed for the GAWs to find their rhythm in the final. If we had to point a finger at one performer who delivered fully it has to be Saurabh Netravalkar. His striking was precise, capped with superb finishing. With 3/25 in four overs he played, there’s not even a single stain in his performance to be pointed out. While Netravalkar, we need to state that he had more than fine support from his spinners and pacers. Together, they were able to make the best out of the scoring rate. 

The entire TKR team knew what they were doing throughout the final match the same way they have done throughout the season. They’ve done enough on their part, and with the goal achieved to retain the Guyana team at 130/8 in 20 overs, a win was there for the taking. With a calm, and composed performance on the batting side TKR took home a tactical win first and foremost. We’re not saying that the chase was not tense, as it was at times, but the experience of the TKR in key moments prevailed. Things will go that way when you have Sunil Narine playing his best game with 22 off 17 balls, and Kieron Pollard’s 21 off 12. These two stole the show, and turned the tides of a game that at moments could go either way. Late in the game, the experience of none other than Akeal Hosein was enough for the 133/7 in 18 overs win. 

The former West Indies all rounder Kieron Pollard was declared as the player of the tournament. With 38 years under his belt, he was back to his best days during this campaign. In addition to his calm performance in the crucial moments of the final game, he was superb throughout the year. Interestingly, the 383 runs he had on the year are the most in his CPL career. The batting strike rate of 174.09 is no less impressive. 

While in the eve of the game fans and other players were celebrating, Pollard was not in a mood to celebrate as he took time to criticize fans for their constant booing during the season. He was disappointed that he still gets boos after the international career he has had representing the West Indies. As a part of the team that has won the T20 World Cup in 2012, he feels that he is entitled to more respect from the fans, especially after the year he has had with TKR. He was not in the mood to discuss his future with many speculating about his imminent retirement as in recent times he was spending time with Mumbai Indians and England’s T20 team coaching. 

While we’re on the subject of coaching, Trinbago Knight Riders benefited a lot from a coaching change they’ve made prior to the season’s start. The rookie coach Dwayne Bravo showed that he has what it takes to take the team all the way. Over the past few years he has been working on his coaching badges and collecting experience all over the world. When first appointed both the fans and the members of media were sceptical whether he can do what’s needed. For Bravo, the formula from the start was clear, keep your team hungry, fans entertained, and do it all through winning. 

He has fully delivered on his mantra, as was evident from the first game that holds all the reins of the TKR team. As a former player it was always clear that he knows all the ins and outs of cricket. Yet, it wouldn’t be the first time that a player who has had an illustrious career fails as a coach. Bravo didn’t allow for that to happen. What made it so easy to go from playing into coaching the TKR team is the fact that he shared the dressing room with a couple of his players during his playing days. With the experienced presence of Pollard and Pooran , Bravo knew that those two needed to be his allies in the room, and with their help he had managed to keep all the players happy throughout the year. 

When it was all said and done, Trinbago Knight Riders wrapped up the season with 6 wins, and 4 defeats. That was enough for 12 points and the position No3 before the playoffs. The top three teams have had the same amount of points so it was evident that the quality disparity doesn’t exist. The TKR team secured their spot in the playoffs after seven rounds when they had a 6:1 score. Due to that, Bravo was making tactical tweaks in the last three games leading to the team losing their last three duels of the regular season. 

From the moment the playoffs started, TKR has shown its true face. First came a win against Antigua & Barbuda Falcons by 9 wickets with 15 balls left. This was enough for TKR to schedule their encounter against the St Lucia Kings, which was another victory achieved by a 56 runs difference. At this point it was evident that Bravo knew how to operate under the pressure and under the brightest spotlight. While the final was an evened out duel at times, we can say that the victory not even once exited the hands of Trinbago Knight Riders. 

The glory has been achieved for Trinbago Knight Riders, at least as far as this year goes. What lies ahead is hard to say as the team will take their well deserved rest, and we’re a year removed from the next CPL season. The team has had a few experienced players, some of which might not be around come the next season. Also, the question about the coach Bravo will linger as he is now on the radar of other franchises, who might make him an offer he will not be able to reject. With all that said, the legacy of TKR was created a long ago, and the future generations will just have to find a way to build on it.