West Indies ready to put on a show with one eye on T20 World Cup

OverviewWest Indies v Sri Lanka, first T20I
Coolidge Cricket Ground, Coolidge
Wednesday, 3 March, 6pm local time

It will be the first international cricket played in the Caribbean since January 2020, and the hosts are ready to put on a show after welcoming back some of their biggest stars.

The explosive Chris Gayle will be looking to play his first match for the West Indies since 2019 after being named in their 14-member squad. Fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who last played international cricket in 2012, has also been picked.

"Chris Gayle has performed very well in recent tournaments and the selection panel thinks that he can still add great value to our team. Fidel Edwards has been selected to give the bowling the potent firepower needed,” Cricket West Indies chief selector Roger Harper said.

The team, captained by Kieron Pollard, will not be short of star power with Dwayne Bravo, Jason Holder, and Nicholas Pooran all included as the West Indies ready themselves for this year's T20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka have not played a T20I since last March and will have to brush off any rust quickly. The touring team has had a bumpy lead-up to the series, with T20I captain Dasun Shanaka yet to join the squad due to issues with his passport and Lahiru Kumara ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19.

Shanaka is expected to join the squad at some point. In his place, Angelo Mathews has been named stand-in captain and he will be hoping for big performances from the likes of Thisara Perera and Niroshan Dickwella.

Fixtures

First T20I – Wednesday, 3 March, 6pm at Coolidge Cricket Ground, Coolidge

Second T20I – Friday, 5 March, 6pm at Coolidge Cricket Ground, Coolidge

Third T20I, Sunday, 7 March, 6pm at Coolidge Cricket Ground, Coolidge

Remember last time

The last time Sri Lanka played a T20I was actually against the West Indies.

Across two matches, the Caribbean outfit won 2-0 with Andre Russell named player of the series after averaging 75 with the bat with a strike rate of 267.85.

Sri Lanka won’t have to deal with the all-rounder this time around as Russell is recovering from COVID-19.

What they said

Roger Harper (Cricket West Indies chief selector ): “As we build towards the defence of the T20 World Cup, the opportunity is being taken to determine our best team and squad as we go forward.”

Mickey Arthur (Sri Lanka coach): “We are short of a lot of our regular players but it is an opportunity for young boys to step up; I can’t wait to see these young guys get out there and do the job and show us what they’ve got. For the experienced guys, this is a real opportunity for them to put in some really good performances to get themselves into that eventual World Cup squad.”

Squads

West Indies

Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Rovman Powell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair

Sri Lanka

Dimuth Karunaratne (ODI c), Dasun Shanaka (T20I c*), Danushka Gunathilaka, Pathum Nissanka, Ashen Bandara, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews*, Niroshan Dickwella, Thisara Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ramesh Mendis, Nuwan Pradeep, Asitha Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilshan Madushanka, Suranga Lakmal

*Mathews has been named stand-in T20I captain