West Indies’ Performance in T20 World Cup

West Indies Team Schedule for T20 World Cup 2022

West Indies T20 Squad S.W.O.T Analysis

Strengths – West Indies have always possessed a strong batting line-up. Till the last World Cup, they had Chris Gayle in their line-up and the likes of Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo in the middle order. However, in 2022, those names will not feature in West Indies’ batting lineup. Having said that, the likes of Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Andre Russell are still the kind of big-hitters who can put fear in the hearts of the bowlers. Odeon Smith and Jason Holder at the lower order are handy bats too.

Weaknesses – The biggest trouble that has ailed West Indies in the past couple of decades is that despite having several talented names in their side, West Indies hasn’t often clicked as a unit. Also, while the team has a lot of firepower in the batting lineup, the same can’t be said of their bowling lineup. Jason Holder is the only reliable name in West Indies’ bowling attack and he would require better support from the other pacers if West Indies are to make a mark in Australia.

Opportunities – West Indies have always been seen as the factory of T20 superstars. But their performances in the shortest format as a team have left a lot to be desired. Yet, when it comes to the T20 World Cup, the team has been able to lift its game and put up winning performances in 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cups. Moreover, the conditions in Australia, with the ball coming on to the bat would be liked by the West Indian batsmen. If Nicholas Pooran can get the best out of his superstar teammates, West Indies definitely will have a chance to get to their third World Cup.

Threats – West Indian batsmen have always been known for their ability to hit big sixes. But another feature of West Indian batting is that their batsmen play a lot of dot balls and don’t often run very well. On big Australian grounds, hitting sixes wouldn’t be as easy as it is on other grounds across the world. As a result, teams would need to be better at using the angles and taking singles and doubles.

West Indies Team’s Performance in T20 World Cup

No team has won as many World T20 titles as West Indies. In fact, they entered the 2021 T20 World Cup as the defending champions on account of having won the tournament in 2016. However, it would seem interesting to many that their two World Cup wins are a bit of outliers if seen in the context of the team’s overall record in T20I cricket. Despite having played more than 160 T20Is, the overall winning percentage of West Indies is less than 45%. All of this is surprising because West Indies has supplied the biggest of superstars to all the T20 leagues in the world like Chris Gayle, Dwyane Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell etc.

The team’s performance in the 2021 T20 World Cup was disappointing. They lost four out of the five matches and their only win came against Bangladesh, which also was a close contest. This, despite the presence of all the T20 superstars mentioned above and being led by Kieron Pollard. For a team that has such a big reputation and entered the tournament as the defending champions, this was an embarrassing performance by West Indies. Much has changed since then though. West Indies registered a win over England in a home T20I series but lost to India and Pakistan away from home on either side of that win. Also, Kieron Pollard relinquished T20I captaincy to Nicholas Pooran when he decided to retire from international cricket. Pooran’s ascension to captaincy is understandable but can the 26-year-old rally his troops to get West Indies’ lost glory back in Australia without Gayle, Pollard and Bravo?

West Indies will have to compete in the additional qualifying round and try to book a place for themselves in the Super 12s. They fell to number 10 on ICC T20I rankings during the last year’s T20 World Cup, leading to such a situation arising.