Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik spoke about the chances of West Indies for the T20 World Cup 2024. He said that he would be very disappointed if the Rovman Powell-led side didn’t make it into the semi-finals of the tournament.
West Indies cricket team are looking like one of the strong favourites to win the ongoing edition of the tournament. Under the leadership of Rovman Powell, they have looked quite strong over the last few months.
In the buildup to the tournament, West Indies played some magnificent brand of cricket, beating India and England in the T20I series. The kind of firepower that they have in their team makes them a dominant side in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.
West Indies have some big names in the team and it’s fair to say that if they play to their potential, no one can stop them from winning another T20 World Cup and etch their name in the record books.
Dinesh Karthik also expressed his confidence in the West Indies for the T20 World Cup 2024. He believes that the hosts have all the bases covered and they are dominant at the home. He added that they will be dangerous even on slow pitches. Speaking to Cricbuzz, he stated:
“They have been the best team between over 16 and 20 across the cycle, very, very powerful team. The one thing that T20 cricket runs on right now when it comes to batting is power. The reason why KKR won, you know, is just power through the innings up until 8, 9 and that's pretty much what West Indies have now.
“And as those stats say, they've been very dominating at home, beat England in a very close five-match series and they played some solid cricket. For me, I'd be very disappointed if they didn't make it to the semi-final. I think they are a team that should get there.
“They have a solid team, most bases covered, the only thing their bowling is little light, especially fast bowling. If they play on good pitches, they will be found out. But if they play on pitches, which is either slow or ones that turn, West Indies have a very good chance.”
When they bat second, they are unbelievably good - Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik further talked about the conditions in the West Indies and pointed out that teams need to consider wind. He talked about the challenges of playing in wind and added that the hosts would want to chase in many games because they bat well in the second innings. He added:
“Unlike other parts of the world, the biggest challenge in playing in West Indies is the wind. You got to take the wind into consideration a lot when you play a shot, which side of the ground you want to hit. As a bowler, you try in India, a lot of times in IPL, you try when they play on the side pitches, one side of the boundary is lesser.
“In this, in West Indies, it definitely becomes the wind. So you don't try and hit into the wind. As a bowler, you make them hit into the wind. So those are the biggest challenges. The pitches are not as consistent as you play in other parts of the world. It's slightly slow.
“It might be sticky. You got to understand infrastructure is not their strength in the Caribbean. So I just hope for this World Cup, it's much better. But consistently over a period of time, they have not been the best. And West Indies will pray to win as many tosses as possible because when they bat second, they are unbelievably good.”
West Indies kickstarted their ICC T20 World Cup 2024 campaign on high. They defeated Papua New Guinea by 5 wickets to claim their first win in the tournament.
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