The ICC T20 World Cup 2022 is scheduled to begin on the 16th of this weekend in Australia. Accordingly, the first match of the tournament will be played between Sri Lanka and Namibia and West Indies will face Scotland on the 17th.
Even now, the teams that have qualified for it have officially named their respective squads, and the West Indies also announced a controversial squad. It is because of calling players like Charles and Yannick to the squad once again.
However, the West Indies team has a balanced squad for the World Cup, and to stay in the tournament, West Indies’ batting must be at a very high level. Accordingly, batsmen like Johnson Charles, Brandon King, and Kyle Mayers should continue to push forward the rhythm that has been maintained in the CPL.
01. Johnson Charles
A muscular opener, Johnson Charles is a right-handed batsman and an occasional wicket-keeper. He hails from the tiny Windward Island, a small nation known for producing some of the better West Indian players like opener Devon Smith, former great Winston Davies, Cameron Caffey, Roll Lewis, and Darren Sammy.
Charles’ recall for this year’s Twenty20 World Cup was controversial and some expressed positive and some negative comments. Thirty-three-year-old Charles last represented West Indies in a Twenty20 match in 2016, when he had collected 724 runs in 34 matches.
However, this season, the tenth season of the CPL, has managed to transform into his season. He is the 3rd highest scorer in the tournament. Charles has so far scored 342 runs in eight matches with a high average of 48.86. 54, 61, 41, 87*, 29, 62, 4, 4 are his innings in this CPL season.
Accordingly, Charles is likely to start the innings with the devastating Evin Lewis in the upcoming World Cup and if he can continue this rhythm and give the team a good steady start, West Indies can become a top team in the World Cup.
02. Brandon King
After King’s few good performances, his form took a turn for the worse and he was on and off the sidelines, but he worked on his technical flaws to start producing consistent performances for Jamaica and was eventually drafted into the Caribbean Premier League in 2017. Showing good skills and potential, he was also included in the global T20 squad for its maiden edition.
The 27-year-old Jamaican is playing the role of one of the most prolific first-order batsmen at the moment and has scored 304 runs in his last 10 T20 innings for the West Indies. Also the highest run-scorer in the CPL so far this season along with his brilliant century against Guyana.
It is very important to get King, who can play the role of a Top-order batsman well, and display the current rhythm well in the T20 World Cup as well.
03. Kyle Mayers
Thirty-year-old Kyle has taken his place behind the scenes in regional cricket for Barbados. A useful medium pacer and left-handed batsman, the all-rounder has been playing a vital role for West Indies.
However, in this season of the CPL, Kyle is handling the bat well and, so far, he is the Second-highest run scorer in the CPL with more than 300 runs in 10 matches. As such, he is likely to play the role of a Top-order batsman in the T20 World Cup, relying on his batting.
Therefore, he is a crucial factor in the West Indies team and this rhythm he has got must be performed in the Twenty20 World Cup.