PVL 2023: Kochi Blue Spikers sack captain Eduardo Romay, deputy Vipul Kumar takes up armband

The Kerala-based team will face league leaders Kolkata Thunderbolts on Sunday at the Koramangala Stadium.

RuPay Prime Volleyball League PVL 2023 side Kochi Blue Spikers sacked their captain Eduardo Romay on Friday citing disciplinary issues. Vipul Kumar is going to replace him, reports claim. 

The Spikers sacked the 27-year-old opposite immediately after their loss against Kochi Blitz in the 5-set thriller (15-9, 11-15, 15-10, 8-15, 15-8) at the Koramangala stadium. The cause of the caustic incident was subbing off the Peruvian international during the second set. A team official told The Hindu, "When we substituted Romay in the second set of our opening match, he did not like it, he created a furore… Romay wanted to leave for Peru immediately. We thought we’d have a compromise talk but he was not ready for it. So we have sent him back ...he has left Bengaluru and has gone to Delhi.”

Spikers have brought in two Indians to replenish the team. Both the players are Indian players while Shubham Chaudhary is a Universal and Prem Singh is a libero. Chaudhary joined the franchise from Haryana and Singh came from Delhi. According to reports, the franchise believes that the complex rules of PVL would be difficult for overseas players. 

Romay is the first South American volleyball player to play in Asia and Europe. The captain of his national side, Romay, joined PVL 2023 after playing in Spain, Austria, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. However, his behaviour has left a lot to desire after he showed a lack of attitude and personality in the very first game. "There were other teams which had substituted their foreign players but they did not create a problem, they did not want to leave," said the unnamed person from the team management.

Kochi had a disastrous first season in the PVL last year. The Muthoot Pappachan Group-owned team finished dead last in the previous campaign. Their victors, Chennai Blitz also had just 2 wins last year, however, they have gotten off to a good start. 

Before playing in the league, Romay had said, " For me, personally, being a foreign player, I am finding everything new. I am getting used to being the new guy. It has been about trying to understand how everyone trains and how they react. Nobody reacts in the same way as the other person. This is a very short season – so we need to do that fast. It’s part of the game, so it’s okay."

The Spikers will face league leaders Kolkata Thunderbolts on Sunday at the Koramangala stadium. Judging by the current situation, it will be difficult for the southerners to trump Bengal if the new captain doesn't get his team to start firing.