West Indies cricket board has announced their new captain for ODI and T20I cricket team after Nicholas Pooran left the captaincy of the Caribbean country. For ODIs Shai Hope has been named as captain and Rovman Powell will take care of the T20 team.
The ODI world cup is all set to take place in India later this year and West Indies will look to qualify for this event. The team will go via the International qualifier in Zimbabwe, with the exception of an unexpected series of outcomes in the final few Super League games. This qualifier will be happening in June or July.
They are now ranked eighth on the table, well behind Afghanistan, who is in seventh place. Each captain will be a key player in strategy and planning during the months leading up to the next ICC World Tournaments.
The West Indies will likely need to participate in ODI qualifiers, which will take place in Zimbabwe in June, in order to compete in the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023. The ICC T20 World Cup will be co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies in June 2024. In an official statement from Cricket West Indies, the new captains talked about the joy of becoming the national captain.
Shai Hope said,“It is a tremendous honour and privilege to be appointed captain of any West Indies team. To lead a team that is of such incredible significance not only to myself and my teammates but to our legion of fans the world over, is something one dreams of as a child. The rich history and legacy that our region and our brand of cricket is so famous and loved for, requires no intricate explanation. I would like to thank CWI for entrusting me with this immense opportunity. To navigate West Indies cricket in the right direction will be my fundamental priority and a task that I shall be unwaveringly committed to. With the support of my team-mates and our dedicated fans, I look forward to a long and fulfilling tenure as captain of the West Indies One-Day International team.”
Rovman Powell also talked about his new venture and said,”I’m truly humbled and grateful to be given this amazing opportunity to lead the West Indies. For me, this a huge vote of confidence and I see this as the greatest honour of my career. To be asked to ‘carry the flag’ for the people of the Caribbean, there’s no bigger role in cricket in the region — a job previously held by some of the greatest servants of West Indies cricket. I also want to thank CWI for allowing me to guide the team in the coming years as we set sights on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which we will be jointly hosting with the USA next year. I’m a passionate cricketer who believes in leading from the front and always giving 100 percent.”
