Rovman Powell, who led Jamaica Tallawahs to the CPL title last season, has been traded to Barbados Royals, ahead of CPL 2023. Powell, who is West Indies’ current T20I captain, could be a contender to lead Royals, who had finished runners-up last season.
As part of the trade, legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr. has joined Tallawahs from Royals. Walsh Jr. had been named Player of the tournament in his first year with the Barbados franchise in 2019 and then had a stint as a net bowler with Royals’ franchise in the IPL – Rajasthan.
“It is with a heavy heart that my time with the Tallawahs has come to an end,” Powell posted on Instagram. “I have made life-long friends and memories I will never forget. Not least winning two CPL titles for my home franchise, one of those as CAPTAIN, which I will always cherish.
“I’m looking forward to joining the Royals and beginning a new chapter of my CPL career. I would like to thank all the players and coaches who have been part of my Tallawahs journey these last few years. Most of all, I want to thank the Jamaican fans, for your support.”
Powell’s exit from Tallawahs follows that of other local stars Chris Gayle and Andre Russell. Gayle’s association with Tallawahs ended in April 2020 after an acrimonious fallout with Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was the assistant coach of the franchise at the time.
Gayle had said he had always wanted to end his career in the “uniform” of Jamaica, his home team, but that dream now appears to be over, and Gayle laid the blame primarily on Sarwan, who he called various things, including “snake”, “vindictive”, “despicable”.
Russell then moved from Tallawahs to Trinbago Knight Riders ahead of CPL 2022, two seasons after he had called the franchise the “weirdest” he has ever played for.
The 2023 season of the CPL will be played across five countries in the Caribbean from August 17 to September 24. But Jamaica will not host any games this season too.
For the third consecutive year, the CPL will overlap with the Hundred, the 100-balls-a-side competition in England that runs from August 1 to August 27 this year. At this stage, Sunil Narine is the only West Indian men’s player who will be involved in both competitions; he is expected to play around five games for Oval Invincibles before leaving for the CPL. (ESPN Cricinfo)