Can the change in name bring change in fortune for Barbados? The CPL franchise was renamed from Barbados Tridents to Barbados Royals after the owners of the IPL side Rajasthan Royals purchased the majority of the stakes.
“The idea of creating a global network behind the Royals brand is something that we are keen to do for many years. It was an opportunity too good to miss. The IPL is only on our screen for a short period of the annual calendar.
Secondly, it gives our fans an opportunity to follow Royals teams across the world and in different locations. Thirdly, from a cricketing perspective to trial new things,” owner of EM Sporting Holdings Ltd, Manoj Badale asserted as reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier.
The Barbados team has lifted the CPL title twice in 2014 and 2019 respectively beating Guyana Amazon Warriors on the both the occasions but had a dismal show in the last edition where they ended the competition at the fifth spot in the points table.
But as they say bygones be bygones.
The only way is to move on and move forward and this is what the Barbados franchise needs to do especially with the kind of firepower it has in the kitty.
From experienced campaigners like Jason Holder and Mohammad Amir to young guns such as Azam Khan and Glenn Phillips, the Royals do have a unit that can leave an impact.
Barbados will be facing St Kitts And Nevis Patriots in their opening match of the competition which is also the second encounter of the opening day of the tournament.
Team News
First things first. Barbados will be without the services of all-rounder Chris Morris, who had opted out of the tournament citing personal reasons. The right-hander was earlier snapped by Rajasthan Royals for an amount of INR 16.25 crore that made him the costliest buy ever in the cash-rich league.
The South African cricketer could have played an important role for Barbados as an all-rounder alongside Holder. Morris is an experienced customer and brings a lot to the table both with the bat and ball and the glimpse of which was visible during the first half of the IPL.
While he is a dangerous bowler on his day as he produces good pace and bounce, the Proteas is pretty handy with the willow too. He is capable of chipping in with some valuable runs at the end of the innings at brisk pace. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, Barbados will have to move on and plan things accordingly.
New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips joined the side as the replacement later on.
Dependence on ‘BIG NAMES’
Jason Holder, Mohammad Amir and Thisara Perera. Who doesn’t know these names? No matter, if you follow the game or not, these are some prominent names in the tally which can’t be ignored.
Holder’s major responsibility in this setup would be to work as a bridge in the line up between the middle, lower-middle order and tailenders. Everyone is well versed with his capability of taking on any bowling attack or ripping apart his opponents with the ball but the genre in this setup demands a bit of tweak.
The right-hander would be fed with distinguished tasks at different situations. He might have to get some quick runs in a lesser number of balls at one instance while the side might need him to stay at the crease and hold one end in a steady manner. To add to this, Holder’s bowling experience would also play a crucial role in putting a halt at the batsmen’s scoring rate.
Next is Mohammad Amir.
There have been no questions on his ability and talent. Despite missing out on playing cricket for such a long time, Amir returned back in action and produced some brilliant performances for Pakistan.
Though, he bid adieu to international cricket later on citing some differences with the team management.
Despite hanging his boots from international cricket, the left-handed pacer is still considered as an asset to any team for which he plays for.
Amir’s role is simple here. Don’t let the batsmen take advantage at any given stage of the game especially in the beginning (power play overs).
The tracks at St. Kitts don’t really help the batsmen in the initial phase of the game and if Barbados bowl first, Amir can create huge problems for the batsmen.
He can move the ball away while is equally efficient to deceive the batsman with the balls coming in. Bowling back of the hand deliveries and slower ones regularly might help the left-hander to scalp some good amount of wickets in the tournament.
Next up we have Thisara Perera.
Perera’s recent T20 form isn’t really an impressive one where he has scored a couple of ducks in the last three games that he played during the PSL and picked up 4 wickets but at a decent economical rate.
He might not have left a major impact in the recent past but Perera’s experience especially in this format is immense. Having played over 290 matches, The right-hander has scored more than 3000 runs and has 247 wickets to his name. The stats speak volumes about his calibre and class.
Armour with YOUNG GUNS
Glenn Philips was in some brilliant touch recently while he was playing The Hundred tournament in England. The right-handed batsman scored some good runs in the competition and the Barbados side would be expecting him to continue his form in this CPL edition as well.
Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Azam Khan has shown a glimpse of his ability as a good striker of the ball in the PSL. Following the PSL, Azam also made his Pakistan debut but didn’t really get much opportunity to perform.
He is pretty good at finding the gaps. However, he now has a chance to show his capabilities with the bat if he gets the opportunity in the final XI.
Oshane Thomas will be a vital cog in the wheel for the Barbados side’s bowling attack. The 24-year-old has already proven his worth in T20s after picking up 57 wickets in 44 matches at an average of under 24.
The only issue with his bowling is that Thomas gives away a lot of runs at times. His overall economy rate in the T20s and in the T20Is is more than 9 which can prove costly for the side. Though he is among wickets, the economy rate is something on which Thomas needs to work on.
Trump Cards
Joshua Bishop and Hayden Walsh can prove to be the trump cards for the Royals. Bishop’s left-arm spin might extract something from the pitch if they are slow in nature. On the other hand, Walsh’s leg break can be useful to deceive the batsmen especially when he bowls a googly.
The batsmen do have a tendency of going after the leg-spinners especially in the shorter format and this could come as a boon for the side in keeping the scoring-rate down and picking up wickets.
Help from the pitch
The track doesn’t really have much on offer for the teams batting first. The sides batting first don’t really win much at the venue and the kind of bowling attack Barbados poses, the team can be lethal if they bowl first.
Just as their last name "Royals" suggests, the Barbados have all bases covered. They fiery batsmen, lethal bowlers and experienced all-rounder
For now the team looks balanced and stable. The only thing that they need to do is “stick to basics” as they do have the players who can win matches single-handedly on their day.
Probable XI
Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, Kyle Mayers, Glenn Philips, Justin Greaves, Thisara Perera, Jason Holder, Hayden Walsh, Oshane Thomas, Mohammad Amir, Joshua Bishop