Ramnaresh Sarwan, assistant coach of the Jamaica Tallawahs, has decided to exit the CPL bio-secure bubble in Trinidad ahead of the upcoming season due to personal reasons, as per reports. Vinod Maharaj and Ryan Austin have been named assistants to head coach Floyd Reifer.

Michael Hall, CPL Director of Operations, confirmed to Jamaica Gleaner that Sarwan was granted personal leave to travel home to Guyana.

“Yes, it’s a big loss,” Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller told Trinidad Newsday. “Sars (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.

“We are going to look to move forward. This is a rebuilding year for us, [but] I don’t just want to say rebuilding. We are here to win the tournament. I think we have a great team and the guys are keen and ready to go, and let’s see at the end what happens, but we are definitely looking forward to having a great tournament this year.”

Sarwan’s exit comes three months after an acrimonious public feud with former captain Chris Gayle, who alleged Sarwan had played a part in his dismissal from the franchise. Sarwan hit back at Gayle, calling the allegations scandalous. Gayle then moved to St Kitts and Nevis Patriots before eventually pulling out of the season due to personal reasons.

“That [dispute] is behind us,” Miller said. “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.”