West Indies are the defending champions of the T20 World Cup title; can they defend their title in the country where they won their second T20 title five years ago?
You play to win titles and trophies, and that’s what 16 teams will be doing when they gather in the Indian sub-continent in October this year.
Carlos Brathwaite, the hero of the 2016 final, entered the 2016-edition of the event with just the experience of two T20Is and was only playing his 8th T20I and 17th International game the day he butchered Ben Stokes in the final over of the tournament.
Going into the final, the big-Brathwaite has scored only 23 runs and picked up 1 wicket in the previous five matches, and yet he played the most impactful performance on the occasion and of his career when it mattered the most.
Can they do it again in the 2021 edition?
With no West Indian player in the top ten lists of batsmen, bowlers, or all-rounders in the T20I rankings, yet they have the ability to win it when it matters the most.
Five reasons why West Indies can go all the way to win the T20 title in India:
- Chris Gayle is back and hungry for a 3rd title
You just cannot put a guy out of the question who has amassed more than 13,000 T20 runs and smoked 22 T20 centuries, can you?
Chris Gayle has, once again, joined the West Indies’ ranks against the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka and hasn’t hesitated to reveal his dream of winning a 3rd T20 title.
With the caliber of almost destroying the opposition single-handedly, Mr. Gayle will have his final push in the Maroon colors in the country where he has most of his T20 runs.
- The dre-Russ factor
Andre Russell is one of the most sought-after cricketers in the T20 circuit and can win the match for his team on his own.
The all-around capabilities of the Jamaican are always worthy for any team he is playing in.
- Captain Kieron Pollard
West Indies seemed to have changed their fortunes after Kieron Pollard has become their limited-overs captain. They have recently won the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
The global T20 experience of the big man will come in handy for the team that is a mixture of old-veterans and young blood.
With the experience of playing more than 500 T20 matches under his belt, Pollard, by all means, can lead his team to a World title.
- Fire-power match-winners
They are the defending champs and somewhat the specialists in the shortest format.
With fire-power match-winners, West Indies have every individual player that can lead them to victory on his day.
- IPL advantage
Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, and Fabian Allen. These are the players who’ll be playing the IPL 2021 before the World Cup.
Some of the big names have gone on to play the tournament for many years and have good experience of the Indian grounds, environment, and pitches.
Contributor
Edited by Jesus Chan
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