ICC World Cup 2019: Five Windies Players to Watch Out for

May 2, 2019 at 11:28 AM

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ICC World Cup 2019: Five Windies Players to Watch Out for

With the Windies announcing their 15-man squad, all ten teams participating in the World’s biggest tournament have named their provisional squads. Teams could still bring some changes until the 23rd of May without asking for permission from world cricket governing body ICC. The twelfth edition of the ICC World Cup 2019 will get underway on May 30 in London.

The board has recalled their old-gold players, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell respectively. Their performance in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) has been outstanding that had led their names being called upon for the biggest limited-overs cricket event. It will be fifth ODI World Cup for Gayle and overall third for Russell.

Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Devendra Bishoo are among the big names who are not listed in the coveted squad.

Over the last few years, the Windies team has not really been into their game. The team has been in conflict with the Windies Cricket Board (WICB) for wages. The world has been missing Windies’ ace game. And with the World Cup squad announcement, their fans are excited to watch the close encounters in the game.

Five Players to be Watched Out For:

Andre Russell:

Andre Russell | Kris Srikkanth |
Andre Russell. Credit: IPL

From last one month, Andre Russell’s name has grabbed the headlines. He has been impeccable for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2019 and has become the latest IPL sensation. With his power-packed sixes and fours, Dre Russ has raised the bar for the lower-order batting in the shortest format of the cricket.

Russell has played just one ODI since 2015 in July 2018 against Bangladesh. But with remarkable big-hitting prowess has made him a neon cricketer, and too hard to ignore.

Russell is not only outstanding with the bat, but he is also good with the ball. In 10 matches of the 12th IPL season, he had bagged seven wickets conceding around 9.5 runs in an over. And if we dig a bit deeper, the Jamaican had been the only bowler in T20s to pick four wickets in as many balls.

Chris Gayle:

Chris Gayle (Credits: Getty

The big guy is the oldest member of the World Cup 2019 West Indies squad. He will be playing as the first-choice opener for his team. If given his day, Gayle has the ability to win the game single-handedly.

The 39-year-old ‘Universe Boss’ had been in good shape recently. He had been smacking the bowlers throughout for West Indies team and his IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab. Earlier this year in five-match ODI series against England, Gayle had scored two centuries and two half-centuries in the four matches he had played. His 27 balls 77 runs had been the talk of the game.

Similarly, in IPL 2019, he had been redefining the limited-overs game with his power-packed performances. With 32 sixes he went on to score 444 runs in 10 matches he had played till now. And in 289 ODI matches, Gayle has made 25 centuries, one double century and 51 half-centuries. His records clearly make him the game-changer for the World Cup.

Shimron Hetmyer:

Indian Premier League 2019: Top 10 Foreign Players To Watch Out
Shimron Hetmyer (Credits – AFP)

The 22-years-old left-handed batsman has been impressive in ODIs especially against Bangladesh and India. He has won the World Cup 2016 for his Under-19 West Indies team. The southpaw has been crunching the ball well.

The stylish Guyanese cricketer proved his mettle earlier this year in the second ODI to be on his way to a scintillating hundred against England. He has the temperament and the talent to become the next best West Indian batsman.

In his 25 ODI matches, Hetmyer has accumulated 899 runs at an average of 40.9. While six of them he played against Bangladesh where he scored a total of 227. Similarly, he has played five ODIs against India to amass 259 runs.

Kemar Roach:

Kemar Roach, Windies, Five players to watch out for
Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images.

The Windies pacer has his own fair share of experience in international cricket. But also has faced problems due to his injuries. During the ODIs against England, he had not been able to play in the first two ODI innings due to a back injury.

The fast bowler, though, has torn the English team apart with his five for four in 4.3 overs, rising like a phoenix from ashes. After not being able to play in the matches for long, this definitely was a much-needed boost for the Barbadian.

Roach had claimed 114 wickets from 80 matches, whereas, his six-wicket haul for 27 runs against the Netherlands in 2011 has been his best.

Darren Bravo:

Darren Bravo, ICC World Cup 2019, Five Players to Watch out for
Photo Credit: Getty Images.

The left-handed Trinidadian batsman was banned after a ‘big idiot’ tweet in 2016. And since then he had played a total off eight matches.

The half-brother of Dwayne Bravo is capable of winning the hearts. He scored his first ODI century against Zimbabwe in 2013. However, he often takes some time to acclimatise to the conditions. He has the knack of piercing the gaps.

Besides, given to his ODI experience certainly makes a case for him to be one of the top performers for the Windies at the World Cup.

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