Keemo Paul

Keemo Mandela Angus Paul is a professional West Indies cricketer who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm fast-medium. The Guyanese cricketer is known for his whippy bowling action and an ability to use the long lever to go affect.

Table of Contents

1. Biography- About Keemo Paul
2. Across the Years- Keemo Paul
3. Awards
4. Career
5. Family

Biography- About Keemo Paul

The talented all-rounder was born on 21 February 1998 and so far in his short international and domestic career has raked up news more for the infamous Mankading incident that sent a struggling West Indies side into the World Cup Qualifiers Quarter-final.

Across the Years- Keemo Paul

Awards

1. CWI Emerging Cricketer of the Year, 2019

Career

Domestic Career

A 17-year-old Keemo made his List A debut the same year he was added to the U19 squad for the World Cup in 2016. He attracted the attention of cricket fans all over the world because of a couple of instances during the tournament. He got his First-Class debut in 2017 for Guyana in the Four-Day Regional Cup, which is the premier domestic competition in the islands. In October 2017, he scored his maiden century in first-class cricket, batting for Guyana against Jamaica in the 2017–18 Regional Four Day Competition.

The Guyanese all-rounder plays for his state Guyana in the First Class and List A domestic competitions in the Caribbean islands. He ‘mankaded’ a Zimbabwe batsman in order to win a crucial match and qualify for the Quarter Finals. He once again earned fame for scoring the winning runs against India in the Final a few days later.

IPL and other T20 leagues

With impressive performances in the domestic and international arena, the Delhi Capitals franchise roped him in for the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League. He played 8 matches, scored 18 runs, and took 9 wickets in the season.

He was selected to play for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League in 2017 and continues to be a part of the franchise. In the first couple of seasons with the team, he has played 13 matches in the tournament to score 28 runs and pick up 7 wickets.

In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Montreal Tigers franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament.

International Career

ODI career

Paul made his ODI debut in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers for the mega event in 2019. He played against Afghanistan on 15 March 2018 at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. He received some boos from the crowd for the infamous mankading batsman against the home team. West Indies batted first and got 197/8 in their 50 overs. Paul scored an unbeaten 16 runs. He further took 2/29 in his 8.4 overs as Afghanistan chased down the target with 3 wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare. Till date, Paul has played 16 ODIs and taken 20 wickets whilst scoring 161 runs.

T20 Career

For his performances in the domestic tournaments, and then the Caribbean Premier League, he got his national call-up. However, Paul’s T20I debut match was a disaster for West Indies but he stood out in both the innings. The Caribbean boys faced Pakistan in the National Stadium in Karachi on 1 April 2018 to resume international fixtures in the nation. The home side scored 203/5 in their 20 overs but Paul bowled miserly and returned with figures of 1/26 in his 4 overs. The visitors were then skittled out for just 60, which was their lowest score in a T20I then. Paul was the only man that remained not out on 10.

Test Career

Paul made his Test debut three months later against Bangladesh on 12 July 2018 at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. The home side was all out for 354. Paul got a five-ball duck in his debut Test innings. Bangladesh could manage only 149 in their first essay as Paul took 2/25. The visitors were set a target of 335 as the home side got 129. Bangladesh could manage only 168 and lost the match by 166 runs.

Family

Keemo Paul was born on 21 February 1998 to Rita Paul and David Paul. After sitting the country’s National Grade Six Assessment at age 11, Keemo attended the Essequibo Islands Secondary School, where he was an instant hit.

He mastered everything from wicket-keeping, fielding, batting, bowling spin and pace, and not surprisingly he made the National Under-15 and from since then reverse gear went out the window, given rise to his rapid progression through the ranks.