Ramdin calls for T20 star support

West Indies’ Denesh Ramdin
West Indies’ Denesh Ramdin

RENALDO MATADEEN

WEST INDIES wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin has deemed the lack of seniority and the absence of the team’s Twenty20 (T20) star players as the reasons they’re struggling on the tour of India. After losing the Test and One Day series convincingly, the Windies are down 2-0 with the final T20 clash to be played in Chennai today, a game Ramdin doesn’t seem filled with confidence about.

“(...) It’s difficult to build a team given the current scenario when you look at our World T20 players. They’re in demand all over the world, so yes, we’re suffering in that aspect.

Our senior players did not turn up for the tour, and that’s one of the reasons why we’re 2-0 down in this series,” Ramdin said to ESPN.

The mismatch has been glaring with the Windies suffering heavy T20 defeats in the country they lifted the World T20 (WT20) title two years ago. India have notched a five-wicket win and a 71-run victory with consummate ease, beginning with a resounding triumph in Eden Gardens, the same ground the Windies won the last WT20 final.

“We’re disappointed. We’re the T20 champs, and we played our first game at Eden Gardens, where we were expecting to do well,” Ramdin added. “But we didn’t adapt as well as we should. We didn’t string any partnerships either. T20 banks on momentum and partnerships, and we couldn’t do that. A lot of T20 cricket is about momentum and we haven’t been able to build on it.”

He singled out players like Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis and Andre Russell as key assets the team need, although he pointed out he cannot fault them for choosing the lucrative returns of franchise cricket over West Indies duty at times. “It’s all about putting food on your table. The players are good enough to be taken by a team in another part of the world, then I can’t stop a player who’s out there to improve,” he continued.

Ramdin believes his team needs to adapt better to India’s pitches and their spinners such as Kuldeep Yadav to generate success. The Trinidad and Tobago international has himself seen T20 success over the last couple seasons with the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League, but he hopes the region’s players will improve for the 50-over World Cup next year in England and Wales.

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"Ramdin calls for T20 star support"

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