West Indies allrounder Andre Russell has said that Jamaica Tallawahs is the ‘weirdest’ franchise he has ever played in. Russell had a poor outing in CPL 2019. He could only manage 6 wickets and 99 runs in five matches. He raised concerns on the team’s lack of communication and professionalism with him, their captain since 2018.
On Instagram, Russell said, “I am a guy who plays to win. I’ve won 13 championships. If I’m picking a friend, I believe in that friend. But the way the Tallawahs went about things; I was trying to reach them on the day of the draft: no reply.”
ALSO READ: Dinesh Chandimal Picks Indian Duo in All-Time Test 11
Rusell explains why he has felt frustrated since 2018 season. he shares how the franchise ignored his recommendations for the player’s draft. He shared how the team treated him like an amateur and he did not value him.
“I felt like a first-class player that just made his debut one game ago. ‘Your opinion is not valuable’. That’s how I was treated. Even when I ask questions: ‘who you guys planning on retaining? Who are you guys planning on buying’? I don’t get any answers. So, I just leave it,” Russell said.
Being a professional, Russel has said that he will run down his contract with the team before leaving them and never play for the Tallawahs again. “I have another year’s contract with the Tallawahs. I’m going to play and try to win because that’s all I play for, but this will be my last, because I’ve been getting mixed up with all this s**t that is happening, and I can’t be playing cricket where I’m not comfortable,” he said.
ALSO READ: Ajinkya Rahane Recalls 2014 MCG Test, Reveals Key Mantra
Meanwhile, the Tallawahs has released a statement rejecting Chris Gayle’s claim. The WI opener had claimed that assistant coach Ramnaresh Sarwan pushed him away from the team.
The statement read, “Mr. Gayle gave several reasons for the decision that was made not to retain him in the Tallawahs. However, the truth is that this decision was made collectively by the ownership and management team, which did not include Mr. Ramnaresh Sarwan, and based purely on business and cricketing reasoning.”
The statement continued with, “The Tallawahs had a very disappointing season in CPL 2019, where the team finished last in the tournament. The ownership and management team has exercised its rights in the selection of players for CPL 2020 for the betterment of the team.”
