India and West Indies will face each other in a three-match T20I series starting from 4th November. It promises to be a mouthwatering clash as West Indies are one of strongest T20I teams in the world.
The Indian team have rested Virat Kohli for the T20I series while MS Dhoni opted out to give a young wicketkeeper a chance. Rohit Sharma will lead Indian team and hoping to perform well as captain and also a batsman.
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Both India and West Indies have played 8 T20I matches, with West Indies winning 5 and India just 2, with one match with no result. With both teams having game changers and experience of playing Indian Premier League, the spectators are in for a treat.
Here we look at the 8 players to look out for in India- West Indies T20I series:
- KL Rahul
KL Rahul is one of the talented batsmen in every format. In the recently concluded ODI series against West Indies finished on 1st November, the dashing right-handed batsman did not get a chance in the playing XI.
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Playing for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 11, KL Rahul performed exceptionally well with 659 runs in 14 matches with a strike rate of 158.41. He opened the innings and played innovative strokes to put opposition bowlers under pressure. During IPL 11, he scored 6 half centuries with the best score of 95*.
KL Rahul was at his best during the first T20I match against England at Old Trafford, he scored a century off 53 while opening innings. With no Virat Kohli for the T20I series against West Indies, it is a great chance for KL Rahul to prove his mettle at number 3 and score big runs.
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Rahul has played so far 19 T20Is (17 innings) for Team India with 696 runs at a strike rate of 155.01. He is the second Indian to score 2 T20I centuries after Rohit Sharma.
2. Shimron Hetmyer
- The hard-hitting Shimron Hetmyer will play a key role in the West Indies T20I series against India. He was in a superb form during the ODI series with some clean hitting with 106 off 78 balls in the first ODI at Guwahati. In the 2nd ODI at Vizag, he made 94 runs off 64 balls. Hetymer continued his six hitting streaks during the 3rd ODI at Pune, scoring a quickfire 37 off 21 balls. He has the ability to big sixes and put pressure on opposition bowlers.
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For West Indies, Hetmyer has played just 2 T20I matches ( 1 innings) and scored 7 runs. Playing for Guyana Amazon Warriors in CPL, the hard-hitting left-handed batsman made 447 runs from 15 matches (14 innings) with a strike rate of 147.52. His best score has been 100. With the ability to smash spinners for sixes, Hetymer will be important to the team’s cause of providing a big total.
- Risbabh Pant
The young left-handed batsman Risbabh Pant has been among the runs for team India. He made his test debut for India in the 3rd test match against England at Trent Bridge. In the 5th test match at Oval, Pant scored an impressive century.
In the next two test matches against the West Indies at home, Pant played well getting out on 92 in both matches. He got a chance to bat in only two out of three matches he was there in playing XI.
Pant performed brilliantly in the 2018 edition of Indian Premier League, scoring 684 runs from 14 matches with a strike rate of 173.60. His best score in the tournament was 128* and hit 5 half centuries, 1 century.
With no MS Dhoni in the T20I squad for West Indies series, Pant would be looking to grab the chances with both hands and improve on his skills. The dashing left-handed batsman has played just 4 T20Is and scored 73 runs with the best score of 38.
- Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard will be making a comeback into the West Indies T20I squad after more than a year. He is a hard-hitting batsman who can destroy any bowling team with his power hitting.
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Pollard did not have a great 2018 IPL season for Mumbai Indians, scoring just 133 runs from 9 matches with just 2 half century to his name. He has played so far 56 T20I matches for West Indies and scored 768 runs at a strike rate of 132.18. Pollard best score in the T20I format for West Indies has been 63 not out.
In T20 format, Pollard has scored 8511 runs from 431 matches. With the experience of playing in Indian conditions, the all-rounder would be looking to prove his credentials again for West Indies and helping them to win series.
- Krunal Pandya
Krunal Pandya has been selected in Indian Cricket team for the first team on the basis of good performances in domestic tournaments. He is a useful all-rounder who can score quick runs coming down the order and also bowl tight overs in the middle.
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In the 2018 edition of IPL, Pandya scored 228 runs from 14 matches with a strike rate of 145.22. With the ball, he did a decent job picking 12 wickets with an economy of 7.07 runs per over. With no Hardik Pandya in the squad, Krunal Pandya could be making his debut in the T20I series against West Indies.
He has played 62 T20 matches for Baroda ( 50 innings) and scored 967 runs with a strike rate of 146.96. His best score in T20 format has been so far 86. With the ball, he has taken 59 wickets from 62 matches ( 59 innings) with an economy of 6.96 runs per over.
- Carlos Brathwaite
Carlos Brathwaite will have a crucial role to play for the West Indies team. He is the captain of the team and needs to lead from the front with both bat and ball.
This year, as a captain West Indies lost the 3 match T20I series against Bangladesh 1-2. In the 2018 edition of IPL, Braithwaite played only 4 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad and could score only 75 runs.
Braithwaite has played 29 T20I matches for West Indies ( 18 innings) and scored just 247 runs with a strike rate of 131.38. With the ball, the all-rounder has taken 25 wickets with an economy of 8.54 runs per over.
Braithwaite must show his skills if the defending Champions, West Indies are to defeat the Indian team in their home crowd.
- Shahbaz Nadeem
Shahbaz Nadeem is another talented bowler who has performed well in the domestic circuit. In the 2018/ 19 season of Vijay Hazare Trophy, playing for Jharkhand, the left-arm spinner took 24 wickets from 9 matches with an economy of 3.86 runs per over. He showed his class picking 8 for 10 best figures in the tournament.
His ability to bowl stump to stump makes him a very impressive bowler. With Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav in the squad, he might not change in the playing XI. If the team management decides him to play, Nadeem needs to pick wickets and help team India wins matches.
In his 109 matches ( 107) innings, he has taken 89 wickets with an economy of 6.77 runs per over. His performance in IPL 2018 was not great, taking 3 wickets from 6 matches.
- Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran another hard-hitting batsman in West Indies T20I squad will be looking to showcase his talent with the bat. For West Indies, Pooran has played 3 T20I matches and scored 25 runs.
Playing for Trinidad and Tobago in CPL, Pooran has scored 1192 runs from 76 matches ( 70 innings) with a strike rate of 139.08. He could play a major role for the West Indies team with his stroke-making abilities. With no Evin Lewis in the squad, Pooran must prove his abilities and make sure that West Indies post a big total.