Twenty20 is a format tailor-made for the West Indies. The joyous exuberance always existed. And then Darren Sammy provided direction to the talent, creating an incredible cocktail of success, and the T20 World Cup trophies arrived in the Caribbean Isles in 2012 and 2016.
The volatile nature of the West Indies team makes them a threat, as planning against them can be tricky. And yet, the defending champions are ranked ninth. They entered the tournament as favourites, yet lost their warm-up games to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Kieron Pollard’s leadership ability has drawn praises from all quarters. If he can hold the unit together and the individuals live up to the expectations, West Indies’ third title is very much on sight.
West Indies squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup
Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher (wk), Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Akeal Hosein (for injured Fabian Allen)
Travel reserves: Jason Holder, Sheldon Cottrell, Darren Bravo
Head coach: Phil Simmons
T20 World Cup Editions Participated: All six editions since 2007
Best T20 World Cup results: Champions in 2012 and 2016
ICC T20I Ranking: 9
SWOT analysis
Strengths: West Indies’ power-hitting remains unparalleled. Lewis has averaged 37 in T20s this year, striking at 164, while Russell’s is 167. Pollard’s strike rate in the middle-order since March 2019 has been over 163. Since 2020, he strikes at 252 (the highest in the world) in the death overs at an average of 65.5. Hetmyer’s strike rate in the recently concluded IPL was 168.
Gayle, Pooran and Bravo also have a reputation for clearing grounds at will. Simmons and Chase can drop anchors when required.
West Indies have the edge when it comes to collective T20 experience. Between Pollard, Gayle, Bravo and Russell, they have over 1,900 T20 games.
On their day, West Indies can destroy any bowling attack.
Weakness: The inexperience in their bowling is a worrying sign. In 2012 and 2016, they won the tournaments in similar conditions, but they had the guile of Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree to back on.
Despite his success, particularly in 2021, Walsh Jr lacks experience. Adding to the woes, Allen has been ruled out due to an injury. The non-selection of Narine might go on to hurt West Indies big. Chase is yet to make his T20I debut.
The pace department also lacks experience in these conditions. McCoy, phenomenal this year, has not played a T20I outside West Indies. Rampaul also returns to the international circuit after six years.
With no Jason Holder in the main squad, there will be a lot of reliance on Bravo and Russell’s experience in the pace department.
Opportunity: There’s no Marlon Samuels this time. Chase has the required skill-set to fill those boots. The T20 World Cup is a big opportunity for the younger likes of Pooran, Hetmyer, McCoy and Walsh Jr to cement their places and be the flagbearer of Caribbean cricket.
Despite being ranked ninth, the defending champions shall enter the tournament as one of the favourites. They are the only side with two T20 World Cup titles, and the highly-rated intelligence of Pollard has the opportunity to extend the lead to three.
Threat: The form of Gayle remains a worry. He averages 21 this year at a strike rate of 128. For West Indies this year, the average falls to 17 and the strike rate to 118. During the IPL, he lost his place to Aiden Markram.
At No. 3, Gayle averages 24, striking at 126, whereas the average shoots 38 and the strike rate to 148 when he opens the batting. If he has to add value with his batting, then opening should be the spot.
Fitness concerns remain an issue with the Caribbean outfit. At 42, Gayle is not the fittest. They sidelined Narine citing the same issues and have lost Allen to an injury, while Russell missed a chunk of the UAE leg of the IPL to an injury.
They are also stacked in a tough group with England, Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (most likely). Except for Sri Lanka, all the mentioned teams are ranked above them.
Trivia: West Indies have played three of their group opponents at home in 2021. They beat Sri Lanka 2-1, lost 2-3 to South Africa and beat Australia 4-1.
West Indies’ likely XI: Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Roston Chase, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard (c), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Hayden Walsh Jr, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul
West Indies’ Fixtures:
- Saturday, 23 October: West Indies vs England, Dubai
- Tuesday, 26 October: West Indies vs South Africa, Dubai
- Friday, 29 October: West Indies vs Bangladesh, Sharjah
- Thursday, 4 November: TBD (most likely West Indies vs Sri Lanka), Abu Dhabi
- Saturday, 6 November: West Indies vs Australia, Abu Dhabi