West Indies are coming into the tournament as the defending champions, but their recent form is not very encouraging. Their key players are regular in various franchise-based leagues in the world but rarely play together as a team in international T20. Now they must deliver together as a team if they want to defend their title.
Their biggest strength is the adventurous playing style they follow. They have some of the most aggressive batters in their side who keeps playing their shots and clears the ground regularly. This creates lots of pressure on the opposition as they are never sure what to expect from every new batter. Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis will form their opening combination unless they want to utilize the T20 legend Chris Gayle at the top. The other option is to use Gayle at the number three followed by Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase and Nicolas Pooran. In their captain Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell they have some of the best finishers in the game. Pollard specifically is in great from since he has become the captain and can be a threat in the death overs. Russell has also shown his pedigree countless times and on his day can destroy any bowling attack. Russell will also play key role as a death bowler with his variations and control.
The experienced Dwayne Bravo will be another key option for death over bowling and was utilized regularly in that role for Chennai Super Kings in IPL. They also have young Obed McCoy who has a very good record in T20 cricket and he is a very good option for using in the death over. They have brought back the experienced Ravi Rampaul based his CPL performance and his experience will be handy. West Indies are slightly weak in the spin department as they only have Hayden Walsh Junior as their primary spinner. They will miss Sunil Narine and the injury of Fabien Allen can be proved as a big blow for them.
West Indies are in a tough group and will face stiff competition in all their matches. Whether their batters can handle the spin and keep scoring aggressively in these pitches will be a big factor for them. They will always provide entertainment value but whether they can convert that into results that would be interesting to see.
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