India vs West Indies: Top 5 little known West Indies players to watch out for | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: West Indies suffered a 3-0 mauling at the hands of India in the recently-concluded one-day international series, but the Men in maroon have absolutely no time to lick their wounds and have to quickly regroup as a unit to enter their second phase of the India tour — the T20 Internationals.
The 50-over format has not been West Indies cup of tea for the last few years and that was clearly visible in the ODI series vs India, but Kieron Pollard and Co. are now in familiar territory. T20Is have traditionally been a strong suit of the West Indies and when they take on Rohit Sharma and Co in the 3-match series, beginning February 16, a much stronger fight is expected from them.
Going through a transition phase after their T20 World Cup debacle last year, the West Indies have stuck to the same T20I squad for the India series that registered a 3-2 triumph against England, back in the Caribbean earlier in January.
The team does have a few faces who are slightly on the shorter side of international experience. But the Caribbean flare that these players possess and bring to the table can result in upsetting the best teams around the world on any given day.
TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at 5 lesser known players in the West Indies T20I squad who the fans should watch out for in the upcoming T20I series against India:
Brandon King (Right hand top order batter)

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Top order batter Brandon King had a flop outing in the India-West Indies ODI series. The 27-year-old could only manage scores of 13, 18 and 14 in the three ODIs and failed to give his team a good start at the top. The Jamaican had a decent outing as an opener in the England T20I series, but failed to replicate his success in the ODIs against India. Brandon’s abysmal show in the ODIs also reflected in the IPL 2022 mega auction as he failed to attract any buyers (base price INR 50 lakh) in the 2-day event. But now as the T20I series against India commences, Brandon will be itching to hit top gear. With a fair idea of the sub-continental conditions after the three ODIs, he can be a big danger to Team India if he gets going. Although Brandon only has 19 T20Is to his name so far, the right-hander has shown promise when it comes to the shortest format. With two fifties, a highest score of 67 and a strike rate of close to 130, Brandon has shown the potential of being a decent top-order batter at the international level in the shortest format. If West Indies are to bounce back in the white-ball series against India, Brandon will have to fire on all cylinders. Brandon is expected to be in the playing XI and the Indian bowlers will have to be wary of his batting prowess, especially in the powerplay overs.
Odean Smith (Right arm bat, right arm fast medium – Bowling all-rounder)

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Bowling all-rounder Odean Smith featured in two out of three ODIs against India in the recently concluded series and his wickets of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant were enough to make him hot property in the IPL 2022 mega auction. The 25-year-old youngster was one of the fiercely bid for West Indians during the auction and Smith bagged a jaw-dropping contract of INR 6 crore from Punjab Kings. Smith’s all-round abilities might not be well known in the international circuit for now but the Jamaican has been on a constant rise in the shortest format, especially in franchise cricket. A medium pacer who can hit the ball long and hard down the order, Smith also showed his hitting skills in the ODIs against India, cracking 24 and 36. Riding high on confidence after a couple of good ODI outings and fueled by a lucrative IPL contract, Smith will be looking to come out all guns blazing against Rohit Sharma and co. when the T20I series commences from February 16. Smith, so far, has featured in 8 T20Is for West Indies where he has 7 wickets and 49 runs to his name.
Rovman Powell (Right hand middle order batter)

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A middle-order batter who also pitches in with medium pace bowling, Rovman Powell was not part of the ODI series against India, but his all-round talent will be up for display in the upcoming T20I series. The 28-year-old, since making his debut in 2017, has a decent number of international games under his belt and is all set for a strong Indian challenge. In the 36 T20I matches that Powell has played so far, the Jamaican has 524 runs to his name at an impressive strike rate of 133.33 along with 4 wickets. Powell’s all-round skills also made him a hot pick in the recently concluded IPL auction, where he bagged an impressive INR 2.80 crore contract (base price INR 75 lakh) from the Delhi Capitals. Powell is expected to walk into the West Indies playing XI in the T20Is and provide a strong balance to the team, which looked completely deflated in the ODIs.
Romario Shepherd (Right hand batter, Right arm fast medium – Bowling all-rounder)

(AFP Photo)
All-rounders, as always, were hotly bid for at this year’s IPL auction and another young West Indian who was in the spotlight during the 2-day mega event was Romario Shepherd. The Guyanese cricketer fetched a whopping INT 7.5 crore deal from Sunrisers Hyderabad which means that the Hyderabad franchise is pretty impressed with Romario’s performances in the shortest format. Although Romario is still new in the international arena, with only 14 T20Is to his name so far, the youngster has showcased his all-round prowess in the Big Bash League and the Caribbean Premier League in the past. During the recent West Indies-England T20I series, Romario accumulated 61 runs and took 6 wickets in 5 matches. And now in the upcoming India-West Indies T20I series, Romario will be looking to improve his T20 international numbers. A smart quick bowler, who also has a batting strike rate of over 160 lower down the order will be a player to watch out for in the upcoming series.
Kyle Mayers (Left hand batter, Right arm medium pacer – Batting all-rounder)

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Batting all-rounder Kyle Mayers became the talk of the town last year when he cracked a double ton on his debut Test and led West Indies to victory in a record chase in Bangladesh. The 29-year-old has been steadily transitioning into international white-ball cricket as well and is being looked at as a potential rising star in West Indies cricket. A big-hitting batsman, who is equipped to open the innings and also bowls medium pacers, Mayers can be a potential threat to India in the upcoming T20I series. Although Mayers only has 4 T20Is to his name so far, he has decent T20 experience having played franchise cricket in the Caribbean. In the last T20I series against England, Mayers played the last two matches and impressed with knocks of 40 and 31 at the top. The West Indies team, which looked deflated in the recent ODIs, will look to give Mayers the whole series at the top and hope that he produces similar kind of performances. Mayers was also picked up by the Lucknow Super Giants in the recently concluded IPL auction for his base price of INR 50 lakh.