NEW DELHI: When the West Indies take on Papua New Guinea at Georgetown, Guyana, on Sunday to start their campaign in the event's ninth edition, they will look to make amends at home, more than eight years after Carlos Brathwaite's four sixes at Eden Gardens gave them their second T20 world title.
In the last over, Brathwaite hit four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes, pulling off one of the most incredible chases to make the West Indies the first side to win the T20 World Cup twice. Their first victory was in 2012.
But since the crew got disoriented throughout the transition, years of suffering ensued. They have to suffer four losses in five games in 2021 in order to exit the Super 12.
Worse was to come when they were eliminated from the main phase of the 2022 tournament in Australia following shocking losses to minnows Scotland and Ireland.
They will be eager to reclaim the unforgettable night at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, especially when the tournament is held at home, as it has been 2982 days since then.
With a decisive victory over Australia in a practice match, the Rovman Powell-led team made it apparent what they were going to do. Their two-time T20 World Cup winning captain, Darren Sammy, is back as a coach.
However, just nine of Australia's players were available for the game, indicating that they were a thinly manned team.
While Nicolas Pooran will be a key member of the middle-order, the West Indies have one of the strongest batting lineups in the tournament in Powell, Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, and Romario Shepherd.
Russell has been in outstanding form with the bat and the ball since helping the Kolkata Knight Riders win their third IPL championship last time around.
Additionally, West Indies hopes to make history by being the first side to win a T20 World Cup at home.
Obed McCoy, a left-arm fast bowler, has taken Jason Holder's place, who was injured but had experience.
During the West Indies A's recent tour to Nepal, McCoy took the most wickets with eight in five matches.
PNG, led by Assadollah Vala, will return after 2021, having qualified through the East Asia-Pacific regional final in July 2023.
Vala is one of ten players from their 2021 campaign; Jack Gardner, the reserve from that edition, was chosen for this 15-player group. His deputy will be the leg-spinning all-rounder CJ Amini.
With alternatives for both left- and right-arm bowling, the team has no fewer than eight recognized all-round players.
Left-arm pacer Both Kabua Vagi Morea and Sema Kamea had successful qualifying runs; the latter scored a hat-trick in the match against the Philippines.
Teams (from):
West Indies: Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph (vc), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd.
Papua New Guinea: Assadollah Vala (c), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, CJ Amini, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Vagi Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau and Tony Ura.
USA favourites against Canada
As they take on qualifiers Canada in a battle of debutants, the tournament co-hosts USA, led by former Australian batter Stuart Law, field a team full of expats and guarantee some shocks.
The USA defeated Bangladesh, a team with all of its members, 2-1 in the lead-up to the event, demonstrating that they will not be taken lightly.
They will also benefit from their recent 4-0 victory over Canada.
Former New Zealand player and World Cup finalist Corey Anderson will give the team a lift. Monank Patel, a batter and wicketkeeper, will lead the hosts.
Monank, who was born in Anand, competed at the age group level for his native state before relocating to the US in 2016.
With 208 runs from six innings, he was the leading scorer in the World T20 Americas qualifying in 2018. In 2019, he made his T20I debut against the United Arab Emirates.
Harmeet Singh, a former left-arm spinner for the Mumbai and Rajasthan Royals, and Milind Kumar, a former batter for Delhi and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, will also be on the team.
They also have Aaron Jones, the most-capped player in USA history, Steven Taylor, the team's top run scorer in international cricket, and Saurabh Netravalkar.
Tear away fast Ali Khan, who missed the Canada series due to a hamstring issue, is also healthy for the competition.
Nitish Kumar, an all-round batsman who represented Canada in 18 Twenty20 Internationals between 2012 and 2019, has moved teams and will be wearing the USA shirt. In April of this year, he made his USA T20I debut against Canada.
With just four players under the age of twenty, the Canada squad is likely to be largely reliant on left-arm seamer Kaleem Sana and top-order batsman Aaron Johnson. Saad Bin Zafar, a left-arm orthodox spinner, provides a wealth of experience to the team.
Teams (from):
USA: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones (vc), Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Nethralvakar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor and Shayan Jahangir
Canada: Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Ravinderpal Singh, Navneet Dhaliwal, Kaleem Sana, Dilon Heyliger, Jeremy Gordon, Nikhil Dutta, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Rayyankhan Pathan, Junaid Siddiqui, Dilpreet Bajwa, Shreyas Movva and Rishiv Joshi
(With PTI inputs)
