T20 World Cup 2021: "West Indies batting is one-dimensional; have to play mindfully" - Deep Dasgupta ahead of SA-WI clash

Former Indian cricketer Deep Dasgupta believes the West Indian batting unit is one-dimensional in their approach. He reckons the Caribbean batters who only look to deal in boundaries will have major problems on sluggish surfaces in the UAE.

Since 2020, West Indies have hit the most sixes in T20Is, with 233 maximums to their name. However, their six-hitting prowess didn't help their cause when they faced England in their first fixture of the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai.

Instead of building an innings on a track that had something for the bowlers, every Caribbean batter went helter-skelter and the team was eventually bowled out for a mere score of 55 runs.

While speaking with ESPNCricinfo, Deep Dasgupta opined that the UAE pitches are not suitable for West Indies' power-hitting batting.

Ahead of West Indies' game against South Africa, Dasgupta underlined the importance of playing with a careful approach on these surfaces.

The 44-year old said:

"Yes they've hit most sixes but these conditions in the UAE are not suitable for them. And this six-hitting is their problem as well, as was witnessed against England. West Indies batting is kind of one-dimensional. They have to play mindfully and be careful with their approach."

Dasgupta also reckons that South African batters are well-rounded to play careful cricket. He mentioned Proteas batters Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram as crucial to their side's cause, as they can tackle spin bowling well.

"On the other hand, South African batting is well rounded to play carefully as well. Rassie Van der Dussen and Aiden Markram will be extremely crucial for South Africa because they tackle spin bowling really well," said Deep Dasgupta.

West Indies will face South Africa in Match 18 of the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai on October 26.

---

"West Indies took their warm-up fixtures very lightly" - Deep Dasgupta

England v West Indies - ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021

The former cricketer-turned-expert also said the defending champions took their two warm-up matches lightly.

He mentioned that West Indies had the opportunity to resolve the major issues in their team during the practice matches, but didn't take advantage of the fixtures.

Pollard and Co. lost both their warm-up games against Pakistan and Afghanistan respectively. In both matches, their batters looked dull and didn't perform to their high standards.

During his interaction with ESPNCricinfo, Dasgupta expressed that the Pollard-led side wasted the opportunity to find solutions to the possible problems in the team during the practice matches.

"When I was covering West Indies' warm-up fixtures, I saw that they took the matches very lightly. They had their opportunity to find solutions to the problems in the warm-up fixtures they are facing now. They wasted their warm-up fixtures against Pakistan and Afghanistan."

It remains to be seen how the two-time T20 world champions will respond following their humiliating defeat against England.