PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – West Indies A team manager Colin Borde wants young Test opener Kieran Powell to make the most of his appointment as captain for the Twenty20 doubleheader against India A this weekend.
The 22-year-old, already hailed as one of the Caribbean’s brightest prospects, was earlier this week named to lead the 13-man squad.
“This presents a good opportunity for young Powell to captain in the shorter format of the game,” Borde said.
“He must use this opportunity well and pay back the trust that the selectors have put in him. It’s an honour to lead any West Indies team and Powell should cherish this.
“He is not the most experienced leader but there are senior players on the team with leadership skills and he should be able to draw from them.
“At the end of the day we are looking to be extremely competitive in this series and we are confident of our chances.”
The left-handed Powell was part of the squad for the recent three-Test tour of England which the Windies lost 2-0.
He struggled with 71 runs in five innings but shone in the four-day tour match against England Lions with a fine century.
Immediately drafted into the A-squad for the final unofficial “Test” against the Indians last weekend, he pummeled a career best 139 and 56 not out, to help Windies A to a crushing ten-wicket victory.
The Windies will now seek to replicate their success in the shortest version of the game where the Indians will start as favourites because of their extensive Indian Premier League experience.
Borde said, however, they believed they could match talents with the visitors.
“The ‘Test’ series is over and we did pretty well and for this I must commend the boys. However, we now have a new format and new additions to our team and we will be coming up against guys with IPL experience and this would not be easy for us,” Borde said.
“We are banking on the fact that we have some players with international experience coming in and this is vital for us. Guys like Krishmar Santokie, Sulieman Benn, Jason Mohammed and Danza Hyatt have tasted international cricket and this is a big boost for us.”
The first T20 is scheduled for Queen’s Park Oval here this evening with the second carded for the same venue tomorrow.
