IPL helped West Indies win

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Thank you, West Indies, you guys owed us that victory; it’s been a tough couple of months for the region. Now, some people would say it was expected because Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and maybe Jaspreet Bumrah weren’t playing, that it was a second-string Indian team, or they’re just testing their bench strength. That Indian team was a full-strength squad; in fact, it was an Indian Premier League (IPL) best 11. A lot of fans and commentators who recently post our failure to qualify for the ODI World Cup, were and still are claiming that the IPL has destroyed West Indies cricket.

I disagree, the IPL has helped West Indies cricket, the West Indies just won a T20 series against the best T20 nation in the world. Like being beaten by South Africa in the second T20 with that crazy scoreline, and still winning the series away from home. We were two nil up against India, and left it to the last game to seal the series. I see self-confidence; those guys are holding their nerve, and backing themselves, despite being under threat. Same with England not too long ago. Hopefully, we can repeat that later this year.

Not being in the ODI World Cup this year means that we are favourites going into the T20 World Cup next year. I agree with Darren Sammy, we need to get a spinner with the stature of Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav in the team to add depth to our bowling unit – maybe Kevin Sinclair or Yannic Cariah. West Indies cricket has shown that they have the talent, tools and the right people to return us to the top of the world.

Above all, this series victory proves that we don’t need Keith Rowley for anything. Darren Sammy has shown that our mentality is the missing piece of the puzzle in our cricket. Rightfully so, Kraigg Brathwaite, WI players have a crucial six months ahead to do some deep introspection and reinvent themselves to bring glory to the region. Well done, fellas. WI move on!

KENDELL KARAN

Chaguanas

Trinidad and Tobago