Tahir keen to return as Warriors’ women celebrate maiden title

The 2026 season ended with contrasting outcomes for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, as the men finished third in the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League while the women captured their first Limacol Women’s Caribbean Premier League title.

The achievements and challenges of both teams were discussed yesterday during a joint press conference at the Guyana Amazon Warriors’ office on Camp Street, Georgetown, where players and management reflected on the campaign and looked ahead to the future.

For the men, veteran captain Imran Tahir once again underlined his value with the ball, finishing as one of the joint-leading wicket-takers in the tournament with 16 wickets at the age of 47.

With questions surrounding his future, Tahir made it clear that he remains motivated to continue playing, although the final decision rests with the franchise’s management. “I’m the kind of guy that likes challenges,” Tahir said. “My part is to give my role, not as a captain but as a player, towards the team, and I think I tried my best. Obviously, I leave it with the management, the team owner and the president. They will have to decide where my future will be.”

Tahir said he remains eager to return, describing Guyana as his home and highlighting the support he has received from local fans. “I’m very keen to come back and play because I feel this is my home and I get a lot of love when I come here,” he said. “I’m very motivated. I really wanted to finish on a high note and probably I’m looking to finish my career in front of the Guyanese to say a big thank you to them.”

Meanwhile, team manager Leao Johnson addressed the mid-tournament departures of Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for international duty.

Johnson explained that both players had initially been selected because they were available for the entire CPL, but an Afghanistan series against India was subsequently added to the international calendar. “The India-Afghanistan series was not on the Future Tours Programme. It was a series that popped up one week into CPL,” Johnson explained. “Those guys are internationals and they had to go back and play. So, it’s not a case where pre-CPL they weren’t fully available. They were fully available, but when national duties call, it has to take preference.”

While the men ended their campaign in third place, the women provided the franchise with its first major CPL title, defeating Trinbago Knight Riders in the Women’s CPL final.

Assistant coach Julian Moore said preparations for the next campaign will focus on retaining the successful core while identifying overseas players who can complement the local talent. “I think the strategy for next year is very simple. At some point in time, the owners will sit down with the relevant personnel and we will look to bring the best possible team, as usual,” Moore said.

He added, “We are going to look at the mix and see who is on the market overseas and see how best they can mesh with the local girls. I think that’s the process we will go through and try to get it right as we did this year and try to take it back-to-back.”