(Jamaica Gleaner) The Jamaica Tallawahs franchise has been placed under the microscope once again, this time involving Jamaican player Ramaal Lewis.
Lewis, who played seven games for the Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Twenty20 tournament last season, was selected in the 16th position in the 2020 online draft by the Tallawahs only to find out later that he was replaced by Guyanese spinner Veerasammy Permaul.
Permaul’s inclusion was confirmed on Monday when a public release of the recorded CPL draft was aired.
Baffled by the scenario, Lewis’ agent, Brad Gillings, reached out to the Tallawahs for an explanation, only to be told that team owner, Kris Persaud, had mistakenly named Lewis instead of Permaul as their 16th pick.
In a statement sent to The Gleaner from the Gillings Sports Management Communications team on Wednesday, Gillings said his client has been short-changed and is seeking an apology and compensation for the scenario.
“This is a very unfortunate event, and we hope the Jamaica Tallawahs can own up to their mistake and the effects it can have mentally on a young player’s career long term,” Gillings said. “We are imploring the Tallawahs to be bold and do what is right, which is to apologise and compensate Mr Lewis for opportunities denied, or restore his place in the team as there were four available spots after his selection which could’ve been an opportunity for another team to draft him.”
The Gleaner reached out via telephone and WhatsApp for a response from Tallawahs Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Miller, but up to press time, there was no response.
The Tallawahs had been in the news recently after star batsman Chris Gayle was not retained, leading him to post a series of rants on his personal YouTube page. There, he said that he was victimised by team management, spearheaded by Miller and assistant coach Ramnaresh Sarwan.
Gayle, who was drafted by the St Lucia Zouks, eventually pulled out of this season’s competition, citing personal reasons.
