After a couple of forgettable outings, the Barbados Royals put up a brilliant performance in the last CPL season to top the points table. The team won 8 of its 10 group stage fixtures and sailed through to the playoffs. They were also the first to qualify for the finals. However, they faltered at the last step and lost to the Jamaica Tallawahs and ended as the runner-ups.
Let’s have a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the team for the upcoming season.
Bet on the CPLThe Barbados Royals have retained much of its core squad which had helped them achieve excellent results. The two seamers, Jason Holder and Obed McCoy took 32 wickets between them and will once again lead the pace attack here. Together, they make an excellent new-ball pair. The Royals have some excellent all-rounders including Kyle Mayers and Rahkeem Cornwall, who can contribute with the bat as well as the ball. Mayers was the top-scorer for the Royals in the last season. They have added more firepower by bringing in the likes of Alick Athanaze and Rovman Powell.
The Royals had two consistent international batsmen in the form of David Miller and Quinton De Kock last year but they are unavailable this season. The team has brought in Laurie Evans, but he isn’t in the same league as de Kock or Miller. The team has also lost out on two of its key spinners, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Hayden Walsh Jr. While they did bring in Maheesh Theekshana, he is likely to be unavailable for most of the season due to the Asia Cup. Therefore, the spin department is a bit lacking as the only quality spinner here is Roelof van der Merwe.
Rovman Powell
Jason Holder
Kyle Mayers
Laurie Evans
Qais Ahmed
Alick Athanaze
Obed McCoy
Kevin Wickham
Roelof van der Merwe
Rahkeem Cornwall
Akeem Jordan
Donovan Ferreira
Justin Greaves
Joshua Bishop
Nyeem Young
Rivaldo Clarke
Ramon Simmonds
Rovman Powell: Powell led the Jamaica Tallawahs to their 3rd title win in the last season and was in good form with the bat. He has followed it up with some good performances in the T20 format during the past year. He was the top-scorer for his team, the Dubai Capitals in the inaugural season of the ILT20 held earlier this year, and looking at his good form, we are backing him to be the top run-getter for the Royals this season.
Jason Holder: Jason Holder was the leading wicket-taker for the Barbados Royals last season with 17 wickets. He is one of the most experienced bowlers in the team and has been in good form of late, picking up 30 wickets in his past 21 T20 internationals. We are therefore backing him to once again emerge as the top bowler for the Barbados Royals.
Bet on the CPLAlick Athanaze: Alick Athanaze has a solid record in First Class cricket, where he has scored 1900 runs in 31 matches. He recently made his ODI debut during the West Indies tour of the UAE, where he equaled the record for the fastest half-century in a debut match, reaching the milestone in just 26 deliveries.
Kevin Wickham: A rising star from the West Indies U-19 squad, Wickham has an average of 81.00 in U-19 ODIs. He has also played well in his recent List A outings, scoring 166 runs in his last 6 innings at a strike rate of 84.26.
Donovan Ferreira: Donovan Ferreira is an all-rounder from South Africa who has previously played for the Rajasthan Royals as well as the Joburg Super Kings. Donovan has scored 703 runs in his T20 career at an average of 31.95 and a strike rate of 148.94. He has also picked up 10 wickets.
