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'West Indies cricket structure is flawed if Russell is not playing': Ex-India batter on WI star's absence from T20 WC
West Indies announced their 15-member squad for T20 World Cup last week as Andre Russell and Sunil Narine remained absent.
West Indies are the most successful team in T20 World Cup history, having lifted the title twice in 2012 and 2016. However, the Windies got knocked out in the group stages in 2021 as Australia won the title. After their disappointing campaign, veterans Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle had retired from the format. Kieron Pollard, too, retired from international cricket earlier this year.
In the absences of their star figures, players like Andre Russell, Jason Holder, and Nicholas Pooran were expected to raise the bar for the Caribbean side but that didn't happen. Instead, the team is now struggling to win matches even at home (having recently faced a 1-4 loss to India).
The West Indies announced their 15-member squad for T20 World Cup last week, that saw the exclusion of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. While their absences weren't a surprise as the duo has remained away from international action for many months now, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes the Windies cricket structure is “flawed” with Russell is not finding a place in the squad.
“The West Indies cricket structure is flawed if Andre Russell is not playing. Different islands unite to play for the team, but I think there is nothing to join them together. In the last T20 World Cup, it seemed the captain’s [Kieron Pollard] friends joined and partied together,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
West Indies have failed to book a direct berth to the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. They would have to compete against seven other teams – Namibia, Sri Lanka, UAE, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Scotland – to qualify for the Super 12 matches at the T20 World Cup 2022. The former India batsman also talked about West Indies' qualification scenario.
“They are one of the most successful teams [in the tournament] but must qualify for the group stage matches. No Russell and Sunil Narine, we shall find out [how they perform],” Chopra added further.
Nicholas Pooran has been named the captain of the West Indies squad while explosive batsman Rovman Powell has been appointed the vice captain for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
