With an undercook squad at helm, will the Calypso be able to retain T20 World Cup?
West Indies come into the seventh edition of the T20 World Cup as the defending champions and the most successful side in the history of the tournament. They have won two of the the last three World Cups defeating hosts Sri Lanka comprehensively in 2012, and then winning a ‘Remember The Name’ freak outing against England in 2016. However, the 2021 edition sees them field their weakest squad ever. West Indies Squad Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Akeal Hosein, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr. Reserve - Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Sheldon Cottrell There is no Sunil Narine, who ran riot in the 2012 final, picking up three wickets at an astounding economy of 2.45 bowling 3.4 overs. 2.45! There is no Marlon Samuels, who top scored in both finals for the Windies, shouldering them out of trouble when the rest of the top order failed to provide. For that matter, they do not have the belligerence of Chris Gayle at the top order anymore. The 42-year-olds inclusion has met with criticism from certain quarters in the Windies camp. Former fast bowler Curtly Ambrose and the ‘Universe Boss’ himself got into an ugly public spat with both players taking pot shots at each other. After the legendary fast bowler said that Gayle is not an automatic choice in the playing XI and that the left hander “hasn’t had any scores of significance” in the past 18 months, Gayle came out with a scathing reply. “I am speaking about Curtly Ambrose. I am singling out Curtly Ambrose, one of your own,” the Jamaican lashed out. “I can tell you personally, and you can let him know that Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss, have no respect for Curtly Ambrose whatsoever. I am finished with Curtly Ambrose,” the 42-year old said. “I have no respect, any time I see him I will tell him as well — ‘Stop being negative, support the team ahead of the World Cup.’ This team has been selected and we need past players to support us. We need that, we don’t need negative energy.” Gayle concluded. Gayle, while not a sure shot starter anymore could occupy the fourth or the fifth position in the batting order, but his dwindling credentials and inability to hit from ball one has put doubts in the heads of many. The Big Misses Sunil Narine Currently one of the best bowlers going around in the T20 circuit, Sunil Narine is coming off a very successful IPL where he single handedly won Kolkata Knight Riders a couple of games. Narine has pulled out of the T20 World Cup, but has not cited a reason for doing so. Not having Narine means that West Indies go into the tournament without a single spinner who is well regarded and feared across the world. On top of that in the slow tracks of the UAE, Sunil Narine could have been a very handy floater, used to dominate the spin bowling attack. Fabian Allen This could have been Fabian Allen’s World Cup. A free spirit, once probably a little carefree one, Fabian Allen’s stocks have risen rapidly over the past year. Gun fielder, a handy off spin bowler and blazing lower order batsman. Once very inconsistent in his performance, Allen turned things around after he missed the 2020 Caribbean Premier League season. It’s not like he got injured or wanted time off from the hectic schedule, Fabian Allen missed his flight from Jamaica to Barbados by arriving late to the airport. And due to strict Covid-19 protocols in place, he had to bow out of the tournament. In the next month and a half, Allen’s social media was buzzing with workout videos and he put a lot of effort on his body and his game. Things did work out, with the right-handed batsman’s T20I strike rate jumping from 120 to 164.28 within a year. However, he injured his ankle and has been deemed out of the World Cup. This will have major ripples across the team who will be well short of their fourth bowler and a more than able batsman who can give them a quickfire 30 runs on any given day and then save 15 in the boundary. Andre Russell Nono. Don’t panic. Andre Russell is not out of the World Cup, well, yet. The famed Dre Russ, who can strike fear in any opposition camp has severe injury concerns to his name. Coming into the World Cup, Andre Russell has not played any international standard games since 26 August. Throughout the season, KKR The Achilles’ Heel The bowling line-up that West Indies have at the moment is simply not good enough. Their two spinners, Hayden Walsh Jr. and Akeal Hosein do not even have combined experience of 40 T20Is together. On top of that their pace bowling attack of Obed McCoy and Oshane Thomas will be playing their first T20 World Cup. Both pacers have been in good form coming into the tournament, especially McCoy, who has given people a hard time with his left arm fast medium. Ravi Rampaul has been the surprise inclusion in the squad on the back of his CPL exploits. He has shown the ability to be handy with his variation of off cutters in the tournament, but it is unlikely that that he will get a chance in the first XI. Beyond their opening duo, skipper Kieron Pollard will have to trust the trio of Russell, Dwayne Bravo and himself to deliver the goods in the back end of the innings, since they do not have any other specialist death bowler. And if Andre Russell is not fit to play, they might have to ask Roston Chase to chip in with his off spin. Hit out or get out With Fabian Allen out and their bowling not in proper shape, the only way that West Indies can survive is if they bat out of their skin. And to be fair to them, they do have that kind of an attack. In the opening positions the duo of Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis are as destructive as it gets. Lewis, especially, has been in tremendous form and has shown in IPL what he can do. In number three Windies will probably go with Roston Chase, who to everybody’s surprise became the top run getter in this year’s Caribbean Premier League, playing the role of a sheet anchor. He usually hovers around the strike rate of 125-127 and is a master manipulator of the field. He has shown his ability of using the long handle, but it is unlikely that he will be able to emulate that against the top bowling attacks in the world. Beyond this number three position, the defending champions have Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell. Considering the left heavy middle order, it is just about hundred percent assured that if Andre Russell can keep himself fit, he will play as the number 7 batter in the team and in that case, Gayle will have to sit out. Rest of the players are automatic starters and pack a heavy punch. They will be responsible for finishing the overs strongly. Shimron Hetmyer can well turn out to be the best bid in this line-up with Nicholas Pooran struggling for runs. Hetmyer has scored at a strike rate of 170 in this IPL and has compiled 242 runs playing in the number 6 position for the Delhi Capitals. Post Russell or Bravo, whoever the number 7 or 8 is, West Indies will have one more batter in Hayden Walsh Jr. He is a bowling dominant version of Fabian Allen, but has the potential to hit it very big if he manages to connect. The final two players in the line-up, McCoy and Thomas do not bat much, but the batting the West Indies have, if on song, is the strongest in the tournament. They have a good mix of players who are known to dominate pace and spin and can well turn out to be their ‘get out of jail’ card when push comes to shove. Probable Playing XI Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Hayden Walsh Jr., Oshane Thomas, Obed McCoy
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