A ‘shotta’ with bat and gloves

THERE is no dearth of experience in the Trinbago Knight Riders side, which is something that makes the job for Dwayne Bravo, the team’s leader, much easier. With the likes of Brendon McCullum, one of the most successful captains in the history of New Zealand cricket, in the side, making crucial decisions in the fast-paced Twenty20 cricket arena becomes simpler. But speaking of leadership and experience, there is another name in the TKR ranks that just can’t be ignored: Denesh Ramdin.

Surprised? Yes, Ramdin led both TT and Windies Under-19 before making his mark in international cricket.

He was only 19 years old with just 13 first-class matches against his name when he was picked to represent the Windies’ senior side on their tour to Sri Lanka in 2005.

Over the years, Ramdin has quietly gone about playing a crucial role in Windies’ progress with both bat and gloves.

Ramdin has not been a part of the One-Day International and Test setup since 2016, but continues to show his strength in Twenty20s for Windies. His knock of 169 in an ODI against Bangladesh in 2014 at Basseterre, which included a mammoth 258-run partnership with TKR teammate Darren Bravo, remains etched in the minds of all Windies fans, who have craved for such performances after years of dominance in the early years turned into an era of re-building, when moments of celebrations became limited.

The Trinidadian boasts of a healthy career strike rate of 122.22 in Twenty20 Internationals, which has seen him don the Windies colours on 62 occasions. Having shown his prowess with Guyana Amazon Warriors and St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League in the past, Ramdin went on to earn fans overseas with Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League and more recently, with Montreal Tigers in the Global Twenty20 in Canada.

Trinbago Knight Riders fans will be looking forward to another great outing from the veteran, who notably blasted a 34-ball half-century against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots last year to seal an unlikely win for the side and send them to the knockout phase of the tournament. This year, the mantra for TKR is #PlayFightWinRepeat, and Ramdin will be required to play a vital role, both with the bat and from behind the stumps.