India vs West Indies 2018: 3 West Indies Players who can challenge India

The Franchise T20 cricket that is played all over the world has taken a heavy toll on the West Indies team in the recent past. The team had to miss out on so many international players like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andrew Russel, Sunil Narine, and Samuel Badree. As a result, the West Indies cricket team has become a depleted unit in the last 10 years.

The team has become so depleted that the two times World Cup Champions were relegated to play the World Cup qualifier round In Zimbabwe where they very nearly lost to Scotland. A couple of dubious umpiring decisions and the adoption of the Duckworth-Lewis method resulted in a narrow win for the West Indies by 5 runs. It would have been catastrophic had Windies failed to qualify for the World Cup.

The present West Indies team is up against the most formidable Indian team on home conditions. While India is ranked 2nd in the ICC ODI rankings, West Indies are placed at the 9th place. There is a big gulf between the two teams. Having said that, the Windies do have some quality international players who can challenge India with their individual brilliance.

In this article, we will discuss 3 of those such players.

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#1. Jason Holder

Holder - The spirit of West Indies Cricket

Jason Holder is the captain of the West Indies team. Both Jason Holder and Darren Sammy (in the initial stages) deserve all the accolades for staying by their nation in times of turmoil.

During his tenure as captain, Holder has faced innumerable changes in the players and the coaching staff. But he has always stood by his country neglecting all the monetary benefits arising out of playing franchise cricket.

Holder is a genuine all-rounder who is capable of winning a match either with the bat or the ball. He holds the records to prove that. In 80 ODIs Holder has taken 110 wickets and scored 1262 runs.

Jason Holder didn’t play the first Test at Rajkot. But his influence on the match was felt in the second Test at Hyderabad when he took 5 wickets and scored a 50. In that Test match, Holder kept the Windies afloat for 7 sessions before the unexpected collapse in the second innings.

It was Holder who saved the West Indies in the World Cup qualifying rounds scoring a total of 211 runs and claiming 15 wickets. In Test matches in 2018, Holder has been the highest wicket-taker for the Windies with 33 wickets in 6 matches.

The West Indies team would look up to their captain to replicate his fine Test match form with the ball in ODI cricket too. The fortunes of the West Indies team would swim or sink with their captain.

#2. Marlon Samuels

Samuels - The thorn in India's flesh

Marlon Samuels is the most experienced player in the present West Indies squad. He is also the senior most cricketer in the world now having made his debut in 2000 at the age of 19. He has played in 71 Tests and 199 one-day internationals. The Guwahati one-day would be his 200th match.

In the past, Samuels has been the thorn in India’s flesh since he has scored heavily against India. He has been a prolific scorer against India in India. In his last 5 tours to India, Samuels has scored 903 runs in 23 ODIs at an average of 45 with 3 hundred and six fifties. For all visiting teams, only 3 other batsmen have scored more runs in India namely Ricky Ponting, Kevin Pietersen, and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

In the World Cup qualifiers, Samuels had scores of 15, 24, 2, 36, 86, 51 and 17. He last scored a century in ODI against Australia way back in 2016. But when it comes to India, Samuels always finds form.

Samuels played two match-winning knocks in the final of the World T20 which the West Indies won.

Samuels really likes playing against India. He keeps on scoring on buckets of runs whenever he comes up against them. When he is in full flow against India, there is no end to his aggression. He can sometimes appear brash and arrogance. But beneath that arrogance, there is that fire to succeed.

Being a senior player in the team is not just about the tag, but also has a lot of responsibilities to go with it.

Samuels should be a role model for the youngsters in the team, nurture them and lead from the front by performing well on the field. It is up to Samuels to lead the West Indies batting line-up against India in the current one-day series.

#3. Shai Hope

Shai Hope - The West Indies hope

Shai Hope is the new batting sensation of the West Indies team. He came into prominence after scoring a hundred in each innings at Headingley against England. Hope scored 147 and 118 not out and was instrumental in the successful chase of 322 in the fourth innings to win that Test for the West Indies. The impressive feature of Hope’s twin hundreds was the calmness and maturity he displayed.

For his wonderful performances in 2017, Hope was named the Windies cricketer of the year. He was also selected as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year. During 2017, Hope scored 773 runs in Test matches and 600 runs in ODIs.

In one-day internationals, Hope has scored 1115 runs in 33 innings at an average of 37. He is also the wicket-keeper in the team. He has been in good form in the World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe with scores of 35 not out, 49 not out,7, 43, 76,0 and 23.

When India last toured the West Indies in 2017, Hope was the most successful batsman in ODIs with scores of 81, 24, 25 and 51. The Windies would be expecting a repeat performance from him in the current series against India. Hope is quite capable of a repeat performance.

The Windies would be pinning down their hope on Hope to come good in the current one-day series against India.