Ramnaresh Sarwan to miss upcoming CPL season due to personal reasons

Jamaica Tallawahs assistant coach Ramnaresh Sarwan will miss the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season- scheduled to start on August 18- due to personal reasons.

CPL Director of Operations Micheal Hall told Jamaica Gleaner that the former West Indies captain was allowed to travel home to Guyana.

Jamaica Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller told Trinidad Newsday:

"Sars (Ramnaresh Sarwan) brings a lot to the game - his knowledge, his experience and the way he has dealt with the players over the years, so it is a great loss."

Vinod Maharaj and Ryan Austin have been named deputies to head coach Floyd Reifer.

This development comes close on the heels of the bitter altercation with former skipper Chris Gayle, who had blamed Sarwan for not retaining him in the franchise three months earlier.

Though Ramnaresh Sarwan termed the allegations “scandalous”, Gayle shifted base to St Kitts and Nevis Patriots before eventually deciding to skip this edition of the CPL due to personal reasons.

Miller, however, denied the two events being related. He said:

"That [dispute] is behind us. We have 12 new players on our franchise this year from last year, so there is no baggage from last year. We are focused this year and the guys are focused on CPL, not what happened in the past."

From Guyana to Jamaica: Ramnaresh Sarwan's journey

Antigua Hawksbills v Guyana Amazon Warriors - CPL 2013

Ramnaresh Sarwan was appointed assistant to the then-head coach of the Jamaica Tallawahs, Mark O’Donnell, in 2018 after being with the Guyana Amazon Warriors since the inception of the tournament in 2013. In fact, he had led the franchise to a runners-up finish in the very first season. He was replaced by Sunil Narine as captain the following year.

Ramnaresh Sarwan has scored 11,944 runs in 286 international matches for the West Indies. He last donned the national colours in an ODI against India in 2013.