Brathwaite focusses on building new-look side for 2020 World T20
Chris Gayle made himself unavailable for selection for the T20I series in India in order to play the T10 league. Evin Lewis backed out citing personal reasons, having earlier denied a central contract from the board. Dwayne Bravo was overlooked and, shortly afterwards, announced his international retirement. Sunil Narine, it has now emerged, wasn't on the plane to India due to an injury. As things stand, Windies have also lost Andre Russell to an unspecified injury - the confirmation coming less than 24 hours from the three-match series opener in Kolkata. These are names very familiar to India's T20 consuming audience, and their absence been spoken of the most in the build-up to this T20I series. The focus, as if, is off most of the 14 players that are actually here.
On Thursday, seven of West Indies' T20I specialists began their preparation at the Eden Gardens. They were joined in by another seven after a rather anti-climatic end to the preceding ODI series that took a turn for the better out of the blue midway through. Under the leadership of Carlos Brathwaite, this new-look Windies team has been tasked with carrying the tag of World Champions which they earned at the very venue, overturning their mediocre run in 2018, and sustaining their dominance over India in the shortest format. After all, this is a format the Windies have taken to a lot quicker than most teams in the international arena.
Barring the likes of Kieron Pollard and Brathwaite, most others in this team don't carry as big a 'star power' as the ones that lifted the silverware in 2016 even though they have shown they are the new match-winners in the making. Brathwaite, on his part, made it clear that while the door is not entirely shut on those who missed out, Windies are simultaneously also starting to build towards their title defence in the 2020 World Twenty20 by injecting youth into this transitioning side. That, fast-tracking those who grabbed the spotlight in the CPL is to be seen as a reward rather than a knee-jerk reaction to Windies' dipping T20I graph this calendar year.
On Thursday, seven of West Indies' T20I specialists began their preparation at the Eden Gardens. They were joined in by another seven after a rather anti-climatic end to the preceding ODI series that took a turn for the better out of the blue midway through. Under the leadership of Carlos Brathwaite, this new-look Windies team has been tasked with carrying the tag of World Champions which they earned at the very venue, overturning their mediocre run in 2018, and sustaining their dominance over India in the shortest format. After all, this is a format the Windies have taken to a lot quicker than most teams in the international arena.
Barring the likes of Kieron Pollard and Brathwaite, most others in this team don't carry as big a 'star power' as the ones that lifted the silverware in 2016 even though they have shown they are the new match-winners in the making. Brathwaite, on his part, made it clear that while the door is not entirely shut on those who missed out, Windies are simultaneously also starting to build towards their title defence in the 2020 World Twenty20 by injecting youth into this transitioning side. That, fast-tracking those who grabbed the spotlight in the CPL is to be seen as a reward rather than a knee-jerk reaction to Windies' dipping T20I graph this calendar year.
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