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Cricket Players'An opportunity to upset a fancy team': Rovman Powell ahead of India vs WI T20Is, names 'best' bowler he is keen to face
West Indies vice-captain Rovman Powell opens on on his new role, dealing with the heartbreaks of missing two World Cups and the upcoming series against India.
International cricket has not been kind to Rovman Powell. He burst onto the scene in 2016 when Jamaica Tallawahs had roped him in as the next Andre Russell, fast-tracking his debut for West Indies in both the T20Is and ODIs a few months later. But Powell remained a fringe option for West Indies in the white-ball format. He showed glimpses of his batting prowess which included a maiden international century against Ireland in the 2019 ODI World Cup qualifiers. And yet, Powell was dropped from the squad for the World Cup. Things went from bad to worse when a couple of underwhelming CPL seasons resulted in him missing the T20 World Cup squad.
But fighting through adversities had defined Powell's career. Bouncing back from the "heartbreak" of missing out yet another World Cup opportunity, Powell made a thundering return to international cricket with his second century en route to a solid 53-ball 107 against England earlier this year. Ever since, there has been no looking back for Powell, the newly-announced vice-captain who is now looking forward to taking on India's "best crop of bowlers" in the impending five-match T20I series. The contest will begin from July 29 onwards where the Nicholas Pooran-led side will be up against an "aggressive" Indian side, that is yet to lose a series since the group-stage exit in 2021 T20 World Cup. They have won five series, three of which were whitewashes, and drawing one - losing just three of their 19 T20Is during the period.
In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times Digital, Powell talked about dealing with World Cup "heartbreaks", his IPL 2022 journey under the leadership of Rishabh Pant and how the new-look West Indies side is gearing up for the India series and the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Excerpts...
How did you deal with the heartbreak of missing out on the 2021 T20 World Cup squad?
Yes, it was definitely a heartbreak. But it is something that I use as an additional motivation to ensure that I don't miss out on the next one. As a boy I always dreamed of playing the World Cup for West Indies and hence missing out was definitely a heartbreak for me.
You were however brought back into the squad for the Pakistan tour and then went on to score 107 vs England at home? So what changed in between? What are the things you worked on?
After missing out I decided that I need to work on some aspects of my cricket. I had taken a few months off and did a lot of hard work and that is serving me well right now.
How important was IPL 2022 in your journey to revive as a white-ball cricketer? What were some of the thoughts or expectations you had heading into the tournament?
It was very important. IPL is the best T20 league and if you go to the best T20 league in the world and rub shoulders with some of the best T20 players in the world it gives you that additional confidence that shines in everything you do. I just wanted to put my name out there and put my best foot forward. Delhi Capitals brought me in the auction and I want to repay them in some sense and show them that they made a very good decision in selecting me and hopefully I did that.
Delhi Capitals failed to make the playoffs, but what was your experience like playing for the franchise and under Rishabh Pant. Tell us a little about your experience of playing with him.
It was a very good experience. When you go to a tournament that is so far away from home, the first thing you want to do is to feel at home and Delhi Capitals franchise made me feel that and took me in as a family. That was the starting point. Then I got to meet Rishabh Pant and found out that we share a lot of sentiments on similar stuff. And that made it even more interesting, and simpler. He is a very good cricketer and we all look up to him and he looked up to us and we tried to learn from each other.
How differently are things being done in the West Indies now under Nicholas Pooran? And what has been your responsibility as vice-captain?
My main responsibility as a vice-captain has been to push the team to the direction in which the captain wants. There are influential players in the dressing room. We are trying to build something special here where there is a family like camaraderie and that is important. We are all from different cultures and it is very important to mix and out all those cultures. And then we can get a proper West Indies team.
He (Pooran) is one of the leading cricketers of our generation and that is very important. It is always important to have someone who is strong as a leader and Pooran is that and going forward, he will do well.
West Indies will be facing India next month in T20Is. India have shown a change in approach in their T20I cricket. What would you like to say about that?
I think the change they made is a change in the right direction. They have looked at T20 cricket over the last few years and realised that they haven't been aggressive enough so they are adapting to that approach. I think that is the very same thing we are trying to do under Pooran's captaincy - the aggressive and fearless approach no matter what the situation is. But we still need to add a little bit of smartness. As we go into the next week we are coming up with plans against India and their better players and hopefully it works well.
Windies have managed to beat India just once since 2017 and have lost all T20I series since then against India. Do you think this new-look Windies side can upset Team India?
Think it will be an opportunity to upset India because they are the most favoured and are a fancy team. They are the better team at the moment if I am to be honest. It provides an opportunity for us as young cricketers in the West Indies side to stake a claim and make a name against the best cricketers of the world. I am looking forward to facing the Indian side.
Based on your IPL experience, do you think you are ready to take on any challenge the Indians can throw at you?
With cricket the challenges never change. When you go to bat, they will try to bowl a spin or get their best pacers to try to get you out. So, these will never change and it is not for us to just counter those plans because we know those plans. It is just a chess game.
Which bowler are you most looking forward to facing in the T20I series?
Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal. They are the best crop of bowlers in India and definitely you want to test yourself against the best.
[Watch the India tour of West Indies LIVE on FanCode App (Android, iOS, TV) or www.fancode.com from July 22, 2022, 7 PM onwards]
