Are West Indies Cricket Team The Dark Horses Of 2022 ICC T20 World Cup?

2022/11/22

With all the talk around Australia, Pakistan, India, and England about being favorites for the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup, can the unexpected storm of the West Indies cricket team return?

After all, they are not the most successful ICC T20 World Cup side for no reason.

Are West Indies Cricket Team The Dark Horses Of 2022 ICC T20 World Cup?

There is always an atmosphere of unpredictability surrounding the West Indies cricket team. In 2012, they beat Sri Lanka comprehensively in the final. In 2016, they edged England in the final thanks to Carlos Braithwaite’s four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes. West Indies fans will remember that it lasts for a long time.

However, times have changed for the team. As they have gotten rid of all the core that was successful in these World T20s, they are going into this year’s edition with renewed optimism.

It is never easy to replace a winning core like Darren Sammy, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, etc. However, the team can definitely take a leaf out of that team’s book and focus on each match individually.

Ever since the years of Sir Vivian Richards, West indies have always produced players that have got grit and determination. They always have a personality about them whenever they step onto the pitch. It remains to be seen whether the current crop of players will fall in the same bracket.

Are West Indies Cricket Team The Dark Horses Of 2022 ICC T20 World Cup?

Certificate Of Nicholas Pooran, Captain Of The West Indies Cricket Team

With a new set of players, the responsibility of a team captain increases even further. In these circumstances, the team needs a stable captain who dictates the dressing room and that’s the task of Nicholas Pooran.

The two-time T20 champions cannot afford to change their captains from time to time and expect the team to deliver consistently. Every captain has their own way of approaching games.

Therefore, they should stick with Pooran for now and back him to the hill. Since the 2016 ICC T20 World, West Indies have had five different T20 captains i.e. Braithwaite, Jason Mohammed, Jason Holder, Pollard, and Pooran.

The captaincy role in the last six years has been so volatile for the Windies that they only played three games each under the captaincy of Holder and Mohammed. As they have had 12 matches under Pooran for now, they should build on that and create a solid team for the upcoming 2022 ICC T20 World Cup.

The Carribeans are currently hosting a T20 series against India. To everyone’s surprise, they have had positive results so far against the 2007 T20 champions. They won the second T20 of the five-match series in a convincing manner.

Even though West Indies haven’t enjoyed the best of form under Pooran’s captaincy in the ODIs, they seem to have changed their fortunes in the shortest format of the game.

Despite a humiliating 3-0 loss in the ODI series against Bangladesh, the West Indies recovered well in the T20s and won the series 2-0. Pooran was the focal point of the second T20 game as he smashed an unbeaten 74 off 39 balls to push the Windies over the finishing line.

Now, they are performing very well so far in the T20 series against India. Even though they are trailing the series 1-2, the fans and the management are looking forward to the remaining two T20 games.

Regardless of his captaincy role, it is also important that Pooran also starts leading from the front. He had a fantastic IPL campaign in 2022 with Sunrisers Hyderabad, scoring 306 runs in 13 innings.

The left-handed batsman scored two fifties during the 2022 IPL edition and had a strike rate of 144. The Hyderabad fans will remember his knock of 64 that he scored against Chennai Super Kings in the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. If Pooran plays well, the rest of the team will definitely respond to their captain.

Are West Indies Cricket Team The Dark Horses Of 2022 ICC T20 World Cup?

Who Are The Main Assets Of The West Indies Cricket Team?

Speaking of the rest of the team, they have to contribute just as much as their captain. Therefore, West Indies may have a few surprising names on the cards in the upcoming T20 world cup.

The openers i.e. Brandon King and Kyle Mayers are having a very good T20 series against India. In the second T20, King scored a match-winning 68 off 52 balls. In the third T20, Mayers joined in the party by scoring 73 off 50 balls, hitting four sixes in the process.

The Windies have also found a very good wicket-keeping batsman in Devon Thomas, who scores crucial runs in the late order for the team as we saw in the second T20 game against India.

But, the engine of their batting line-up is undoubtedly Shimron Hetmyer. The 25-year-old was named one of the five breakouts in the game in 2018 by the ICC.

He may be not his absolute best for now but his lethal form in franchise cricket makes him a potent threat for the opposition, and arguably one of the best batsmen for the Windies across all formats.

Moreover, he has enjoyed a fantastic 2022 IPL season with Rajasthan Royals. In the 15 games he played in the 2022 edition, he scored 314 runs with an average of 44.86. The 25-year-old has scored three IPL half-centuries so far in his career.

He was surrounded by a fantastic group of batsmen Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler. The current England captain won the orange cap as the highest run-getter of this year’s tournament.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t performed well enough in the ongoing series against India so far. However, the fans and management would hope that he can turn his fortunes with still two matches to be played.

In the bowling department, Obed McCoy has grabbed the headlines by taking six wickets against India in the second T20 game of the current T20 series. It is the best T20 figure of any bowler against the 2007 T20 champions.

In the 13 T20 matches played, McCoy has picked up 19 wickets at a bowling average of 16.84. He also had a good IPL season in 2022 with Rajasthan Royals, taking 11 wickets in seven matches.

Alongside the emergence of McCoy, Pooran has Akeal Hosein to rely on. The left-arm spinner has taken 20 wickets in 26 matches with an economy of 6.91. When the West Indies cricket team needs someone to get through the middle overs, they can turn to him.

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