Currently, the West Indies cricket team is facing a rough period in their career. Fans who have followed the sport for a long time and witnessed great players like Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Clive Lloyd, Garfield Sobers, Malcolm Marshall, and Chris Gayle can understand this statement. The West Indies team had a successful run in the 1970s until the mid-2000s, winning several titles and dominating the cricket world. However, in the past decade, they have struggled to maintain their success.
Recently, the team faced a controversial incident during the ODI World Cup qualifiers held in Zimbabwe a month ago. Their below-the-belt play resulted in the team being disqualified from participating in the upcoming ODI World Cup, scheduled to take place in India from 5th October. The West Indies cricket team was led by captain Nicholas Pooran and coached by former West Indies captain Darren Sammy, who began his coaching career after being appointed as the coach of West Indies for a limited series in May.
However, after a poor performance, the team had to face India on a tour starting on July 20th, and they weren’t able to improve their game much despite the management’s efforts. Kraig Brathwaite became the captain for the Test series, but the team faced a major loss in the first Test and the second Test was declined due to rain.
In the ODI series, Sammy rested players like Pooran and Holder and made Shai Hope the captain, which seemed to favour the team’s performance. However, the deciding ODI is yet to be played. The T20I series squad was released with attacking players like Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Shemron Hetmyer, and Nicholas Pooran, who can lead the team well in a short cricket format. However, Sammy’s coaching style is all about choosing the right captain. This time, the West Indies surprised the visitors by appointing Rovman Powell as their new captain. Powell has a batting best of 68* against India and an average of 33 against the Asian giants. He holds a strike rate of approximately 137 against the team, which could be a game-changer for the Caribbean side.