Barbados Royals Bolstered by Full-Strength Squad for Home Leg of CPL 2024
Rovman Powell’s Barbados Royals, one of two unbeaten teams in CPL 2024, will field a full-strength squad for their home leg, which commences on September 11 against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons in Bridgetown.
The Royals have been bolstered by the return of South African duo David Miller and Keshav Maharaj, who were rested for South Africa’s upcoming tour of the UAE. Miller, who captained Paarl Royals in the SA20, and Maharaj, who has represented Royals in the IPL, bring a wealth of franchise T20 experience to the side.
Batter Alick Athanaze has also recovered from a finger injury that sidelined him for the Royals’ game against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots last week. With Maharaj’s return, Sri Lankan allrounder Dunith Wellalage, who was signed as a replacement player, has returned home.
Shamarh Brooks, who was initially selected as a temporary replacement for Miller, will remain with the squad as cover.
“We’ve got David Miller and Kesh Maharaj, and we’ve got our full complement of five overseas players,” said Royals head coach Trevor Penney. “It will definitely be a different team and will be a good headache to have with some of the youngsters that have come in and played really well as well.”
The Royals have secured contrasting wins in contrasting conditions so far in CPL 2024. They overhauled 146 with plenty to spare on a North Sound pitch that got better for batting, while they scrapped to victory with just one ball to spare on a used Basseterre surface.
Despite some rain in the lead-up to their home leg, Royals captain Powell suggested that it has not affected their preparation. “The practice wickets were good and the guys told me that the wickets in the middle are good,” Powell said.
Powell hopes that the experience of their overseas players will serve them well. “A lot of the guys have been playing franchise cricket around the world,” Powell said. “These training sessions are just top-ups – just to get some blood flowing, hit a few balls in the middle and as a bowling group see if we can correct a few errors that we have made in the past few games.”
Maharaj will slot into Wellalage’s role and will work with mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana, who has the best economy rate among all bowlers who have bowled at least 24 balls this CPL. With the pitches expected to slow down further, Powell spoke about the impact the spinners could have on the tournament.
“Bowlers win tournaments and batters win games,” Powell said. “I think we have a pretty good overseas spin department and that is very, very important. In the Caribbean, quality spinners sometimes become difficult to bat [against].”
