West Indies white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran has backed the spin duo of Akeal Hosein and Hayden Walsh Jr. to come up with the goods in the upcoming T20I series against India.
Akeal Hosein is still settling into the international cricket he made his debut in 2021 while his compatriot Hayden Walsh Jr. secured his maiden appearance in 2019.
Pooran (C), Powell, Brooks, Drakes, Hetmyer, Holder, Akeal Hosein, Joseph, King, Mayers, McCoy, Keemo Paul, Romario, Odean, Devon Thomas and Hayden Walsh.
Asked whether Akeal Hosein and Hayden Walsh Jr. could replicate the exploits of Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree, Pooran replied ahead of the first T20I in Trinidad:
“Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree did their job really well. For Akeal Hosein and Hayden Walsh to be like that, it is obviously going to take a while. Narine and Badree have a lot of experience while these guys have just started at the International level. There is a long way for them to go, we just have to give them the space to understand their craft.”
Akeal Hosein and Hayden Walsh Jr. are the frontline spin-bowling options for the five-match T20I series against the Men in Blue. Gudakesh Motie is yet to recover from a fractured thumb while Fabien Allen has pulled out due to personal reasons.
Nicholas Pooran will lead the West Indies in the second of the five T20Is later today (July 29) at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy Ground in Trinidad.
India beat West Indies by 68 runs in the opening T20 International on Friday. Invited to bat, India posted 190 for 6 with skipper Rohit Sharma top-scoring with 64 off 44 balls.
West Indies were restricted to 122-8 in 20 overs, losing by a huge margin. Ravichandran Ashwin (2/22), Arshdeep Singh (2/24) and Ravi Bishnoi (2/26) were the most successful bowlers for India.