Once-powerful WI team’s shocking performance

Dear Editor,
The West Indies senior cricket team was humiliated in the just concluded tour to Sri Lanka. More serious was that the defending 2021 ICC World Cup champions failed miserably to even advance from the ‘play-offs’ in the ICC World Cup.
It was indeed very much anticipated that the team that was selected to play in the World Cup would only be able to participate in the tournament. The administrators, and particularly the coach and selectors, did not offer any explanation for their choices.
The once powerful West Indies team’s performance was so disgraceful that they are not a certainty to play in the upcoming 2022 ICC World Cup Championship.
West Indies are scheduled to play Pakistan three One Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals during this month. While the West Indies team selected to play in Pakistan do not include some of those pensioners who were selected to participate in the last World Cup, the team on paper certainly look much inferior to the powerful Pakistan team.
The team will be under Shai Hope as the captain. Hope is not even a certainty to play if he is not captain, while the tried-and-tested Nicholas Pooran will be his deputy on tour. The batting looks very feeble on paper. Darren Bravo, who was a standby passenger in the World Cup, will be the certainty batsman in the team.
It will be interesting to follow the performance of Shamarh Brooks on tour. Young Justin Greaves and the experienced Roston Chase, will have to be at their best. The three all-rounders, Raymon Reifer, Ramario Shepherd and Odean Smith, are the future of West Indies cricket. The spinners are Hayden Walsh Jr, Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie.
It is interesting to know that this team will have to play against the might of one of the best batsmen in the world, Babar Azam. However, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, along with Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, not to name the others, are hot favourites to humiliate the West Indies.
Cricket fans and supporters in the Caribbean will be looking at the West Indies team playing against Pakistan only to have more stress and frustration.
As we move into 2022, the home team is scheduled to play the powerful English team in a Test series. All eyes will be on the team that will be selected to play against the powerful visitors. The batting in the last Test series was so poor that not a single West Indian player was able to score a century, or even average fifty.
Skipper Kraigg Brathwaite was in a sea floating. While vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood was a total failure. Nkrumah Bonner was at a loss. The West Indies team was humiliated by 187 runs in the first Test match, and by 164 runs in the second. It is better for us to forget about what took place in that Test series.
However, the bowling of Veerasammy Permaul and Roston Chase was encouraging. West Indies cricket desperately need the intervention of the Caribbean leaders. The quality of cricket that we are seeing around the world is far superior than the mere participation that the West indies team are engaged in.

Sincerely,
Neil Kumar