By Michaelangelo Jacobus
The Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) on Wednesday revealed the U-19 squad which will represent Guyana at the upcoming Cricket West Indies (CWI) Rising Stars U19 tournament, and it was announced that the impressive batsman Mavindra Dindyal will once again captain the national side.
Looking ahead to the tournament which bowls off from July 2 in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), Dindyal is embracing his role as a leader and told Stabroek Sport that he is impressed with the side that has been selected.
“It’s an amazing feeling to captain your country. I’m just looking forward to the challenges and I’m willing to work hard to bring the trophy back home” Dindyal declared.
“I think the team is a pretty good team… a pretty balanced team. There are a lot of players who work hard and really want to do well. I think that’s the main factor in the team, we have that drive. We have that passion to go out there and play hard cricket. Once we execute our plans I think we will be a very good team in the tournament. I think we have one of the strongest teams in the region”, the confident youngster stated.
Meanwhile, quizzed about his individual aims at the upcoming tournament, Dindyal stressed the importance of turning in good performances and leading from the front.
“I’m just looking to perform to the best of my ability, go out there and put in good performances, play hard cricket and enjoy it”.
“In the batting department my role will be to anchor the innings, try to score as much runs as possible while supporting my team and pushing the players to do their best”, he noted.
While this is Dindyal’s second stint as the captain of the U19 side, this time around he will have the brilliant all-rounder Jonathan Van Lange as his deputy which bodes well for the Guyanese side.
At last year’s tournament the Guyanese turned in solid performances but fell just short of the title.
It will help that most of the players that have been selected played major roles last season.
The likes of Rampertab Ramnauth, Sachin Balgobin, Alvin Mohabir, Zachary Jodah and Thaddeus Lovell will boost the side’s chances of going all the way this year.
On the flip side, the country’s leading young fast bowler Isai Thorne is unavailable after he was recently selected to tour England from June 23 with the West Indies Test team, albeit as a development player.
The young Harpy Eagles are scheduled to depart Guyana’s shores on June 30, before jumping into action a few days after in St. Vincent.
Ahead of their departure in a few weeks, the team is expected to begin encampment in the coming week.
While Jamaica are the defending champions, the Guyanese will be gunning for their title this time around.
The squad reads: Rampertab Ramnauth, Sachin Balgobin, Alvin Mohabir, Zachary Jodah, Johnathan Van Lange (vice-captain) , Thaddeus Lovell, Romeo Deonarain, Mavindra Dindyal (Captain), Shahid Viera (WK), Krsna Singh, Riyad Latiff, Golcharran Chulai, Bruce Vincent and Anthon Lim.
Meanwhile the stand-by players are: Rampersaud Ramnauth, Shiloh Adams, Kumar Deopersaud, Salim Khan, Wavell Allen and Myheim Khan.
The manager is Nazeer Mohamed while the Head Coach is former national cricketer Andre Percival.
