Fifty-four-year-old Sunil Dhaniram has expressed confidence that West Indies can win the 50-over limited-overs World Cup to be held in South Africa.
According to the versatile all-rounder, the team is well-balanced and ready to showcase their talent in every facet of the game.
“This [is] big tournament and I am confident we can win; we just have to stay focused and play competitive cricket.”
Group A includes West Indies, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, USA, and Zimbabwe while Group B consists of South Africa, England, Wales, Pakistan, India, United Arab Emirates, and Namibia.
The experienced regional players begin their campaign against Sri Lanka and Canada-based Dhaniram believes that the veteran players will start on a winning note in the first match.
“We have a bunch of experienced players in the lineup; meaning players with international and regional experience and that should also give us the confidence at the tournament; I believe it is about starting on a winning note and that can be very encouraging.”
When asked about his personal experiences in South Africa during his representation for Canada, he said,
“Obviously, this is a different era and yes my previous exposure in South Africa will definitely help me with the conditions and hopefully it would be of benefit to the team as well.”
Dhaniram, a left-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox spinner, says the team has a lot of good quality players, including his brother.
“We have some quality players in the lineup and they too are capable of doing well from the start of things; there are other good players with experience in this version and no doubt will be anxious to make an impression.”
He represented his native country in 12 first-class matches before immigrating to Canada and later played 44 one-day internationals for Canada.
The team is again led by former Guyana player Samin Amin. He was at the helm when the 2020 tournament was called off due to the global pandemic.
West Indies squad: Zamin Amim (captain), Narine Bideshi, Sudesh Dhaniram, Sunil Dhaniram, Rajendra Dilraj, Ian Drakes, Kenny Girdharry, Fareed Hosein, William Lashley, Ishwar Maraj, Azad Mohammed, Delroy Morgan, Basil Persaud, Richard Ramrekha, Anthony Sahadeo, Vejai Seonarine, Balwant ‘Roy’ Singh and Chanderpaul Singh.