KURUNEGALA, Sri Lanka, CMC – Talented emerging all-rounder Rovman Powell says his recent success has crystalised his belief he can excel in international cricket.
The 23-year-old has burst into the limelight within the past year, catapulted into the West Indies senior and A-teams, and is now being regarded as a player for the future.
“I think my outlook on a lot of things have changed. I am now really starting to believe that I have what it takes to be successful at the international level,” Powell said here following his latest match-winning effort.
“It’s for me now to continue to work hard and go back to the drawing board and continue to sharpen up the areas that need sharpening up.”
The Jamaican has been a key player for West Indies A in the first two unofficial One-Day Internationals, lashing back-to-back aggressive half-centuries to help the Caribbean side take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
In the opening game last Tuesday, Powell hit 55 from 35 deliveries as West Indies A routed the hosts 165 runs in Dambulla and followed up with a stunning 22-ball 52 in 109-run victory here Thursday.
Powell said the two performances had helped reinforce his ability and given him a renewed confidence of what he could achieve.
“It was a good performance for me as a cricketer going forward. It just shows that once you do the right thing and remain patient, whether you are a batter or a bowler, you will get the just rewards,” he explained.
“As a bowler, the job is to put the ball in the right areas, not just twice but on a repeated basis. And as a batter, it is also important for you to get starts and after you get that start, you make it count.”
In addition to this attacking batting, Powell has also proven himself as a handy seamer, with valuable contributions for Jamaica Tallawahs during the Caribbean Premier League.
Again on Thursday, he proved his worth, picking up three wickets to help see off the Sri Lankans, and Powell said he already considered himself a “genuine all-rounder” though he loved batting more.
“To be honest, I consider myself to be a genuine all-rounder so any one [discipline] that comes off on a given day I will take that,” he noted.
“I always wanted the ball to bowl and [on Thursday] I got the ball to bowl and I did the job that was required. But to be honest, I love batting a little bit more because batting is pleasure and bowling is hard work.”
Powell was picked on the Windies T20 side for the three-match series against Pakistan but failed to get a game, despite impressing in the practice game against the Emirates Cricket Board XI.
And he said following the ongoing A team tour, he would look to the West Indies first class season to further develop his game.
“I am keen. I will definitely play more first class games. I will look to play over five first class games this season,” he said.
“First class cricket is where we as young cricketers in the region learn our craft, learn the art of batting on different wickets in the Caribbean and so forth.”
