Rovman Powell

Rovman Powell is a Jamaican cricketer who plays for the West Indies cricket team and is its current captain in Twenty20 Internationals. Domestically, he has played for Jamaica, the Combined Campuses and Colleges, and the Jamaica Tallawahs. In December 2018, he captained the West Indies for the first time in a One Day International (ODI) match against Bangladesh.

Early life

He grew up in the Bannister area of Old Harbour Bay with his mother Joan Plumar and younger sister; his father abandoned his mother before he was born.

Powell grew up in relative poverty, looking after his sister as his mother worked multiple jobs. He attended Old Harbour High School, also working as a goat – herder for a period of time. He later won a sports scholarship to the University of the West Indies, where he studied geography and social studies.

Domestic Career

• List A debut: in January 2015, playing for the Combined Campuses against Guyana in the 2014 – 15 Regional Super50
• He took 3/20 and scored 31 runs on debut, and was named man of the match.
• First class debut: in the 2015 – 16 Regional Four Day Competition, playing for Jamaica against Guyana
• He played a key role in Jamaica’s march to the final of the 2016 – 17 Regional Super50. In the semi – final against Trinidad and Tobago, he smashed 95 runs from 45 balls (including 9 sixes and 6 fours), before taking 5 – 36; these were both career – best List A performances, leading to him being named man – of – the – match.
• In October 2018, Cricket West Indies (CWI) awarded him a white – ball contract for the 2018 – 19 season.
• In October 2019, he was named as the captain of Jamaica’s squad for the 2019 – 20 Regional Super50 tournament.
• He was the leading run – scorer for Jamaica in the tournament, with 412 runs in eight matches.

T20 Franchise Career

• In February 2017, he was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders team for the 2017 Indian Premier League for 30 lakhs.
• In April 2021, he was signed by Peshawar Zalmi to play in the rescheduled matches in the 2021 Pakistan Super League.
• In February 2022, he was bought by the Delhi Capitals for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament and retained for the 2023 season.
• After being released by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League season, Powell was purchased by the Rajasthan Royals for 7.4 crores during the IPL 2024 auction.

International Career

• One Day International (ODI) debut: in the second match of the tri-series, against Sri Lanka
• Twenty20 International (T20I) debut: for the West Indies against Pakistan on 26 March 2017
• In February 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Powell as one of the ten players to watch ahead of the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament.
• Following the conclusion of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament, the ICC named Powell as the rising star of the West Indies’ squad.
• When the West Indies toured Bangladesh in December 2018, he was named as captain of the ODI squad of West Indies.
• In January 2022, in the third match against England, Powell scored his first century in T20I cricket, with 107 runs from 53 balls.
• In 2023, Powell was made captain of the West Indies T20I side replacing Nicholas Pooran after their disappointing ICC T20 WC2022 campaign.