Gros Islet (St Lucia), June 17: He is extremely capable with the bat. He is good fielder as well. Those who have not seem much of him in international cricket, can remember his late hurricane innings for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL)>
Though for reasons not best understood, RR did not utilise his full potentials as a batter and played him as a finisher in the last few overs, but West Indies rewarded him with the captainship.
He is leading The Caribbeans in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 as well.
Under him, hosts West Indies have done extremely well so far. Caribbean skipper Rovman Powell is pleased with the elevation of his side in the past 14 months. Under his captaincy, they climbed to No.3 in the T20I rankings before playing the T20 World Cup at home.
The West Indies are unbeaten in the tournament with three straight wins in Group D to secure a Super Eight spot. They will face group-toppers Afghanistan in their last group-stage fixture at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Powell admitted home pressure in the mega event, adding that the team has coped it well so far while highlighting their ascent in the T20I rankings under his leadership.
"I think pressure is always there, especially when you're playing a World Cup at home. Pressure is always there, but it's for us as individuals to manage those pressures. And I think for me as captain, when I started this journey 12 or 14 months ago when I took over as captain, we were at eight or nine in the ranking," he said ahead of the match against Afghanistan.
"To see us at number three now in the world is a pleasant feeling. And it shows that not just myself, but the players are coming together and we're doing something right. I've never played in a West Indies team that is ranked number three in the world. So that for me is something special and hopefully, just hopefully, we can continue to climb those rankings," Powell added.
On Monday, the local boy Johnson Charles will have the opportunity to put up a show in front of his home crowd. Barring 44 against Uganda, the opener failed to open his account in the two matches. Powell extended his support to the struggling batter and said the team expects him to play aggressively.
"It's just a case of us telling him to be Johnson Charles, be his natural self. If he's an aggressive player, we expect him to play aggressively. But with that aggression, we know at some point he will fail and at some point, he will come good. So, it's for us now to support him, it's for us now to give him that additional backing that he needs and I think everyone is behind him to come good tomorrow or when he gets the opportunity in the future games," the captain said.
Powell also emphasised his happiness at getting to play at the batter-friendly venue, which has not been common in this competition.
"When we look at the schedule all the batters were excited to come to St. Lucia. Traditionally St. Lucia has been a place where batters like to bat. But it's also an opportunity for bowlers to bowl good spells here, especially the fast bowlers. We think that St. Lucia offers 60-40 (runs) in terms of, from a batting perspective, to bowl. And so, if you are a bowler, or if you are a batter, you definitely can get something out of the St. Lucia wicket," he concluded.
Hosts West Indies would hope to see their skipper Rovman Powell lift the ICC T20 World Cup Trophy 2024. If that dream comes true, then the Caribbeans will win the T20 World Cup for the third time. Earlier, under Daren Sammy, they won the titles in 2012 and 2016. (With IANS support)
