The great West Indian teams of the 20th century were blessed with an abundance of talent and almost always had a player ready to put his hand up for captaincy. The diplomatic Clive Lloyd, the flamboyant Frank Worrell, a player's captain in Richie Richardson, a true leader in Carl Hooper and a skipper who led from the front in Brian Lara, West Indies were never short of leaders.
Post the turn of the 21st century, they have struggled to maintain the same aura as that of their predecessors. Their records have plummeted to an all-time low and a stark shortage of leaders meant bits and pieces players are at the forefront of their national teams.
A lot of controversies have surrounded recent Windies skippers. The norm is that the leader of the team should be one of the top 4-5 players in the squad. However, the appointment of Darren Sammy and more recently Jason Holder had come in for severe criticism on the basis that neither deserved a spot in the team as a player alone.
With Holder's place in the Test team under scrutiny, let us a list some players who could replace him as the skipper of the Test team.
#1 Darren Bravo
Bravo is undoubtedly the best batsman in the current squad. Given his exploits of late, he is one candidate capable of taking over the reins of a team in shambles. Though his half-brother, Dwyane Bravo, had a controversial time as skipper, Darren is more the reserved kind with a good cricketing brain.
Bravo has inherited a lot of traits from his cousin, Brian Lara, especially in his batting style. There is no reason why he cannot become a leader as well, in the mould of Lara. His batting is at a career-high at no.3 and he possesses the right attitude to be at the helm.
With an incredible Test record, he is in no danger of being questioned about a place in the team, at least in the near future.
#2 Roston Chase
The batting all-rounder made a name for himself in the Tests against India by proving his worth with bat and ball. A fighting hundred and a five-wicket haul in that match made the fans take note of this talent from Barbados.
While he is too inexperienced at the moment to be handed over the reins of the Test side, West Indies have very few options. His calmness under immense pressure is something that boxes well for him, if he is indeed interested in skippering his country.
During his record breaking feat in just his second Test, Chase showed a Chanderpaul-like patience at the crease and became the first West Indian since Gary Sobers to acheive the double of a five wicket haul and a hundred in the same Test. Elevating Chase to captaincy could be one punt worth taking.
#3 Carlos Brathwaite
Brathwaite is already in charge of the T20I team and in his limited time in international cricket has shown maturity. The all-rounder is a very talented player and excels under pressure, as he showed in the T20 World Cup final against England.
Brathwaite is not in the Test team currently, but has shown enough potential in limited overs cricket to warrant a comeback. West Indies could surely use an all-rounder who can take the game away in a session, in Tests.
In his short time in Test cricket, he showed patience befitting a Test player. That he batted well in conditions Down Under is testimony to his skills as a batsman. The lad surely deserves a comeback in the Test team and the grooming for captaincy can take place simultaneously.
#4 Kraigg Brathwaite
The opening batsman is one consistent player in the West Indies Test line-up. He was also the skipper of West Indies U-19 World Cup squad in 2012 and has prior experience of handling a team. After making his Test debut in 2011, Brathwaite has had a consistent run courtesy some fine knocks at the top of the order.
The issue with most West Indian captains of late is that they do not have performances to show as a player. Brathwaite is certainly not in that category. He averages a healthy 33.88 after 24 Tests with four centuries.
While he doesn't have the aura an authoritative captain possesses, his prior experience of leading a side would stand him in good stead.
#5 Devendra Bishoo
A left field choice would be to make the leggie, Devendra Bishoo, the skipper. While he has no prior experience of leading a team, he is someone assured of a place in the side.
His recent eight wicket haul against Pakistan showed the attacking spinner he is in Tests.
If he can take his attacking mindset into his captaincy, he could be a good skipper. While bowlers have not been preferred to lead Test sides, West Indies themselves had a bowling skipper in Courtney Walsh.
Bishoo could take a leaf out of the former West Indian fast bowler and go on to become an inspirational leader.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
