'The results will show' – Captain Pollard backs young Windies batsmen for success

The visitors were defeated 2-1 in the T20I series, with India captain Virat Kohli producing a batting masterclasses in both games that the home team won. Pollard said that it was important for the young batsmen in his team to learn from such performances in a bid to improve themselves.

"It's about you being able to realise your potential and you're watching other guys who've done it or who're consistently doing it," Pollard said on Saturday, 14 December. "The way they go about doing their stuff and the way they train - physically and mentally - and the amount of time they invest in their cricket careers is going to make the difference. These guys who're successful... we as cricketers who want to be destined to be great need to try to emulate.

West Indies are replete with promising young talent like Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran among others. While plenty of those names have already shown ample evidence of their skills at the international stage, Pollard is of the belief that they will get even better with time owing to the hard yards they are putting in behind the scenes.

"Sometimes we need to do the extra, and that's something we've spoken about with this bunch of guys we have. These guys are really, really putting in hard work behind the scenes at the end of the day. Wait and see and the results will show. Have patience... they're doing what you need to succeed at the international level."

West Indies come into the three-match ODI series after completing a 3-0 whitewash against Afghanistan. Roston Chase was instrumental to those victories, contributing with both bat and ball. Pollard feels that Chase lends balance to the side.

"I think he brings balance to the whole team," Pollard said. "He's, first of all, a Test batsman - he has Test hundreds - and that in itself is a great asset for us. Having a guy who bats in the middle order in Test cricket coming in and in one-day cricket can do any role. Given that, he can bowl as well it gives an opportunity to play an extra bowler or an extra allrounder or an extra batsman. So, he has been very valuable for us.

"We saw his talents and we're trying to exploit what we can give for himself as he can be up there in terms of being the No.1 allrounder in the world. He has come in [as] a left-field selection, but that's something that has worked for us."