West Indies can clinch second spot in the International Cricket Council’s official Twenty20 rankings, once they can make a clean sweep of their two-match series against India starting tomorrow.
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It is the only ICC certified ODI standard stadium facility in the US and hosted six Caribbean Premier League matches last month. We have played in the past in the West Indies and a lot of Indians come over form the U.S. to watch us.
India and West Indies will play two Twenty20 matches on August 27 and 28 at the Central Broward Regional Park, Fort Lauderdale, USA.
The two-match series is set to become an annual event in the US as part of BCCI’s efforts to reach out to new markets and audiences.
West Indies are coming off a chastening experience in the just-concluded four-Test series where they were outplayed to lose 2-0. Kumble was still optimistic about the confidence the team would carry from his first series as coach. Obviously, we have played together over a long period of time and we had a chat yesterday and today as well. I’m really looking forward to working with him and the new set of boys like (Jasprit) Bumrah.
The series also begins a new chapter for the West Indies, as they will be led by a new captain – Carlos Brathwaite.
15 – The number of T20I matches won by India in this year, the most by any team in a calendar year in T20Is. That was the World T20, a do-or-die semi-final in front of home crowds at a venue where they had lifted the World Cup five years ago.
“I think his (Brathwaite’s) main mindset is that we have to continue where Sammy left us and the good work that Sammy did in this position”, Simmons said.
“It’s always good to have all the senior guys back and they make things easy for me because it’s a case of them doing all the work, as they know about this format inside out; so it gives me a chance to just enjoy them freeing up themselves out there”, the Trinidadian pointed out.
But despite his heroics in Mumbai, the 28-year-old Brathwaite is yet to become a force to reckon with when it comes to global experience, having played just three Tests, 14 ODIs and eight Twenty 20s.
India’s Test captain Virat Kohli heads the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for T20I Batsmen with 837 points. Fast forward to 2016, Dhoni and Kumble will again join forces after the former leg-spinner was appointed as the coach of the Indian set-up in June this year.
Twelve of the 14-man Test squad will be in Florida with Test skipper Virat Kohli handing over the leadership duties to Dhoni.
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“From an Indian perspective, we are really looking forward to these T20 games against the West Indies”.
