Has Rovman Powell finally arrived?

He has threatened to be the next explosive batter from the region for some time but has Rovman Powell now found the best version of himself?

Feb 23, 2022

The West Indies were struggling to adapt to the slow conditions at Barbados with the England spinners tying the batters down. In the third T20I, straight out of the bench, Rovman Powell strode in at #4 and smoked a slog sweep second ball for six.

From then on, it was carnage. Tymal Mills tried to bang the ball in but was hammered out of the ground. Livingstone tried to bowl outside Powell’s arc, but was creamed over cover for six. George Garton attempted yorkers but was treated like a spinner and swept ferociously.

As Powell marched on to his hundred, a lot of the reactions from fans were exclamations of disbelief - “Is this the same Rovman Powell?”. Rovman Powell had finally arrived on the international circuit like he was primed to when he debuted back in 2017.

The journey to this juncture was not all rosy, though. Let us track Powell’s career from the day he spoke to Andre Russell even before his CPL debut to his reborn version in the recent England and India series and the changes he has made to his game in an attempt to live up to his lofty goals.

The CPL callup

The 2016 Jamaica Tallawahs team was a star-studded outfit. Led by Chris Gayle, featuring Andre Russell, Kumar Sangakkara and Dale Steyn, they were one of the most feared teams in the CPL. Before the start of the tournament, however, Gayle singled out one player who could be their X-factor -- it was debutant Powell.

Powell later revealed in “CPL Life Stories” that a year earlier, he had reached out to fellow Jamaican and idol Andre Russell, asking him what he can do to emulate him. Russell said he believed Powell could not only match his achievements, but also go further.

Powell had an opportunity to make it big and put food on the table for his family, and there is no bigger pressure than being put in the hot seat with the world watching after being spoken about by two of the greatest T20 players ever.

Fortunately, he had a solid season that caught the eyes of the West Indies selectors. Powell smashed 16 sixes in 12 innings including three in a row in a game vs Barbados Tridents at a hostile Sabina Park. Powell was particularly severe against pace, consistently hitting sixes in a volatile lower order role.

The international step up

After his breakthrough CPL season, Powell earned a call up for home series against Pakistan and Afghanistan. He was also picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2017 IPL. In the CPL, Powell showed some vulnerability against spin bowling which was duly exploited at the international level.

In the Caribbean, there is a lack of local wrist-spinners, meaning most spinners in the CPL are overseas recruits. Hence, growing batters face very little quality wristspin before making the step up to internationals. In his first nine T20I innings, Powell failed to cross 30 as he was tied down by the likes of Shadab Khan, Rashid Khan and Kuldeep Yadav.

Predictably, with his weaknesses found out, Powell had a harder time of it in the 2017 CPL. He managed only three scores over 30 in 11 matches. He had little freedom in terms of constructing an innings because his lack of scoring options against spin meant he had no option but to smack all types of pace.

The revival

The 2018 CPL saw a shake up in the Tallawahs setup. Russell took over as captain and David Miller was added to the middle order following Gayle’s departure to the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots. This meant Powell got an opportunity to bat at #4 for six innings that season. It was massive for Powell because he had to find a way around his spin deficiencies and maximize his strengths.

The additional time at the crease reaped rewards. Powell’s scores at #4 read: 43*(23), 64(37), 35*(27), 84(40), 55*(34) and 15(9). Finally, he began to find consistency while batting at a fast tempo. The Tallawahs struggled that season, but Powell’s body of work did not go unrecognized.

Powell was picked for the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe and scored his maiden international century in a crucial match against Ireland to help the West Indies reach the final. When Jason Holder was ruled out of the tour to Bangladesh the same year, Powell was made captain. He had little leadership experience under his belt, but did a commendable job given the circumstances.

The purple patch

Powell finally found his range in international cricket with a maiden T20I half century against Bangladesh away from home. He followed that up with another magnificent 54 against India in extremely challenging conditions at Florida.

Powell may actually have been fortunate not to pick up an IPL deal the following year in 2019 despite his growing exploits. He had an opportunity to play a full season of the Regional Super50 and finished averaging 58 at an eyewatering strike rate of 160. With that, Powell asserted himself as a top-tier domestic player -- by showing he was too good at the domestic level, he earned a consistent spot in the maroon.

Powell continued to bat at #4 in the CPL even after Gayle’s return to the Tallawahs in 2019. He smashed a 44(22) against the St Lucia Stars before being ruled out of the tournament due to injury. In the meantime, the likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Fabian Allen and Sherfane Rutherford rose through the ranks and unfortunately Powell did not get many batting opportunities in the 2020 series against Sri Lanka and Ireland.

COVID break takes its toll

Powell’s development was already hampered by his CPL injury, but the following COVID break made things worse as he had limited time to practice his methods vs spin bowling. The conditions in post-COVID CPL did not help either. Captaining the Tallawahs in 2020, Powell scored over 30 only once in 11 innings and struck at a strike rate of over 100 just twice.

It was a new low for him. Despite his poor CPL, Powell was taken on the tour to New Zealand with some big names pulling out due to bubble fatigue. He failed to adapt to the extreme change in conditions and was roughed up by the New Zealand quicks. It was hard to give Powell a long rope with his performances drying up.

Similarly, in the 2021 CPL, Powell failed to redeem himself in tough conditions. The Tallawahs team in itself was a mess and he struggled to captain the team efficiently while also facing his spin demons under pressure. It looked like Powell’s career was coming to a dead-end, something else had to open up.

Overseas opportunities

Powell needed a change of setting from the dreadful CPL pitches to revive his career once again. Flat pitches at the Abu Dhabi T10 was the first stepping stone. The T10 tournament was played in two blocks in 2021. In the first edition, Powell formed a formidable partnership with Nicholas Pooran. While Pooran helped cover for Powell’s spin weakness, Powell continued to demolish pace, helping Pooran out in the process as well.

Fortunately for Powell a plethora of pull outs at the COVID-struck PSL meant he was named as a replacement player for the Peshawar Zalmi. Under Daren Sammy’s captaincy Powell had another good run in the familiar Abu Dhabi setting.

Powell was then named captain of the Northern Warriors in the second T10 edition in 2021. This was our first glimpse of Powell 2.0. He was one of the top scorers in the tournament. The very next week, Powell played for the Kandy Warriors in the LPL where he smashed a 61(19) in one of the games before having to withdraw from the tournament for national duty.

The new Powell

During his time off, Powell worked extensively on a conventional sweep and paddle sweep to counter spin. Powell’s biggest problem was facing the googly from wrist spinners, so he had to find a way to hit with the spin. By getting low and sweeping, Powell was no longer getting stuck on the crease and leaving a gap between his bat and pad.

The work that went into his sweep shot against spin also translated into improvement against pace. When pace bowlers were targeting fuller lengths, Powell got low and began to belt hard and flat sweeps against pace. This was seen in full flow against Chris Jordan in the deciding match against England.

Powell also worked on his off side range against pace bowling. With wide lines being one of the key methods to stop West Indian big hitters, Powell opened up scoring shots over the off side, lofting balls over cover for six. Yes, it was a purple patch of sorts again, but the new additions to Powell’s game had fully taken effect.

****

Powell is still only 28 years old and has a good chunk of his career ahead of him. He is back in the IPL, having been picked up by Delhi Capitals at the auction. In some ways, it feels like a restart to his journey. He is now more mature and understands his game far better, giving him a better chance at actually cracking it than in 2017.

Powell’s aspirations to be as good as Russell and one of the best players in the world are still possible to achieve if he continues to grow the way he is right now. After years of grafting, the fear of him not fulfilling his potential is slowly fading away. Rovman Powell is now ready to rule.

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