CPL 2025 Wrap: The Numbers Behind the Cricket's Most Electric League

The Caribbean Premier League has come to a close with the Trinbago Knight Riders back as champions after five long years! As we did for the MLC and IPL, let's investigate what our metrics say about who left the strongest mark on the tournament, and how TKR were able to win the competition.

#1 KA Pollard: CPL’s Most Impactful Player

At the top of the charts sits Kieron Pollard (Trinbago Knight Riders). Pollard stands out for his terrific batting performance throughout the competition. With 383 runs at a strike rate of 174, in a league that generally featured lower-scoring matches than most others, he ranked first in Aggression and fourth in Consistency.

What is particularly striking is that, despite not finishing among the top five run-scorers overall, the efficiency with which he scored — and how effectively he executed his finishing role — was enough to make him the highest-rated player in the tournament. The eye test aligns neatly with our model as well: Pollard was ultimately named Player of the Tournament.

Key Stats:

Overall Rating: 100

Aggression: 100

Consistency: 88.5 (4th place)

Batting Output: 383 runs from 220 balls

#2 Shai Hope: Run-Scoring Machine

Close behind Pollard is Shai Hope (Guyana Amazon Warriors) with a 95 overall rating (roughly 95% of Pollard’s impact), driven by the most consistent run-scoring of any player this season. Hope’s value came from reliability rather than explosiveness.

Throughout the tournament, he served as GAW’s anchor, providing stability both as an opener and at number three, and ensuring that innings did not unravel under pressure. Notably, he did not rank highly on the Aggression list, with a strike rate of 127, but his second-place ranking highlights the importance of an anchor in T20 cricket — particularly on the slower pitches in Providence, Guyana.

Key Stats:

Overall Rating: 95

Consistency: 100

Batting Output: 491 runs (highest run scorer)

#3 Sunil Narine: Control That Creates Opportunity

And finally in third, we have T20 legend Sunil Narine. Narine has placed highly in previous tournament ratings, most notably in IPL 2024, where our model ranked him as the Player of the Tournament. Interestingly, while that ranking was driven by his impact with both bat and ball, his third-place finish here comes almost exclusively from his bowling.

He placed first in Run Restriction, with a scarcely believable economy rate of 5.94. While he took only 10 wickets, the pressure he applied consistently forced batters into mistakes, allowing other bowlers, particularly Usman Tariq, to convert those moments into wickets at the other end.

Key Stats:

Overall Rating: 94.5

Restriction: 100

Economy: 5.94 across 52 overs

Trend 1: Spin Reigns Supreme

The top seven bowlers of the tournament, according to our model, were all spin bowlers, highlighting the spin-friendly nature of pitches across the Caribbean. Not all of the bowlers listed below operated as primary strike options. Instead, much like Narine, several created impact by controlling run-scoring and building pressure, rather than relying solely on wickets.

1. Sunil Narine — 1st in Restriction

2. Tabraiz Shamsi — 3rd in Restriction and Wicket-Taking Frequency

3. Imran Tahir — 2nd in Wicket-Taking Frequency

4. Usman Tariq — 1st in Wicket-Taking Frequency

5. Kharry Pierre — 2nd in Restriction

6. Gudakesh Motie — 4th in Wicket-Taking Frequency

7. Roston Chase — 8th in Restriction

Trend 2: Playoff Teams Had Several Stars

Notably, the top three finishing teams in the CPL also had the most players in the top 10 overall rankings. Trinbago Knight Riders powered their way to the title behind Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine — the tournament’s top-ranked batter and bowler — along with a strong supporting contribution from Nicholas Pooran.

Guyana Amazon Warriors featured the second-ranked batter and third-ranked bowler in Shai Hope and Imran Tahir, a combination that carried them through to the final. Meanwhile, the Saint Lucia Kings had four players in the top 10 — Tabraiz Shamsi, Kharry Pierre, Roston Chase, and Tim Seifert.

What is particularly interesting, however, is that while Saint Lucia possessed an exceptionally strong spin attack, their batting depth was limited outside of Seifert. That imbalance ultimately proved costly. Chasing 195 against Trinbago in the second qualifier, once Seifert was dismissed for 57, the batting collapsed under sustained pressure from Narine and Usman Tariq.

Final Thoughts

When numbers are used effectively, they begin to tell a clear story of how results come about. That is certainly true for CPL 2025: the data shows that the most effective players were those who could finish innings with the bat, anchor their teams through challenging conditions, and apply sustained pressure by restricting run-scoring.

This context also helps explain broader team outcomes. We can see why sides like Saint Lucia Kings struggled to advance in knockout matches, and why Trinbago Knight Riders and Guyana Amazon Warriors — the two most balanced teams in terms of batting and bowling — ultimately reached the final.

What is also striking is the profile of the tournament’s standout performers from a West Indies perspective. While CPL 2025 brought attention to lesser-known names such as Quentin Sampson and Karima Gore, both of whom placed in the top 25 overall, many of the league’s biggest domestic stars — Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, and Nicholas Pooran — currently sit outside the international setup.

Pollard, in particular, stands out. Having retired from international cricket over three years ago, his CPL 2025 performance makes it clear that he still has much to offer cricket at the highest level in the years ahead.

We will be back in January with more coverage and updates for the Big Bash League and SA20!

All player ratings generated using T20 Analytics' context-adjusted performance model. Check out our full CPL 2025 ratings for detailed metrics on every player.