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The former owner of Jamaica Tallawahs, Kris Persaud,
has stated that the lack of assistance from the Jamaican government was the
reason behind his decision to relocate to Antigua. The Guyana-born billionaire,
who now resides in Florida, gave up his franchise to the Caribbean Premier
League (CPL) and opted to start a new team in Antigua, where cricket is
ingrained in the local way of life.
“I could not continue to operate a franchise
cricket team in a country where the government refuses to provide any financial
support for the tremendous economic and social benefits it receives from event
held on their behalf in and and out of Jamaica,” Persaud, whose original
name is Krishna Prasad, told
“We won the tournament in 2022 and received no
acknowledgement/appreciation from anyone in the government, and so we have
decided to cut our losses and leave the situation to the CPL. (We’re) looking
forward to exciting times in Antigua where cricket is an intrinsic part of the
culture.”
The CPL was launched and Tallawahs were taken over by Persaud from businessman
Manish Patel, and since then he had been running the franchise before deciding
to close shop in Jamaica and start a new team in Antigua. “I bought 100
percent ownership rights from Manish Patel in 2017 and he played no part in any
of my business ever. I’m 100 percent owner of the new Antiguan team,”
Persaud asserted.
Persaud has not yet decided on the name of the Antigua
franchise but he is confident that he will have a few Antiguans on his side as
players and coaching staff. Bowling legend Curtly Ambrose is an assistant
coach. As for the name, Persaud said he will leave it to the public. “We
are taking names from the public and will decide upon them early next year. We
already have Curtly Ambrose as the assistant coach to the new team open to
including other Antiguan legends as mentors of the team. We plan to help flourish
grassroots cricket all over the island,” he told this website.