Denesh Ramdin Admits West Indies Will Bank on IPL Stars for ODI Series vs India
Denesh Ramdin is among a clutch of Caribbeans to show some batting form in the warm-up matches before the India versus West Indies ODI series starting this week.
West Indies will surely be banking on their Indian Premier League connections in the upcoming ODI series against India, Denesh Ramdin has confessed. After the West Indians lost back-to-back warm-up games against India A in Mumbai on Sunday, Ramdin said the team will be boosted by the return of three key players who were busy in the Champions League Twenty20.
The West Indies will be boosted by the return of ODI skipper Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith (both part of Champions League Twenty20 winners Chennai Super Kings) and Andre Russell (a key member of CLT20 finalists and 2014 IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders). The first ODI will be played in Kochi on October 8 and Ramdin said the West Indians will not be affected by the defeats in the warm-ups.
"We are right where we want to be," Ramdin said. "Bravo, Smith and Russell still have to slot in. That will give (Kieron) Pollard and (Darren) Sammy more finishing power at the end. Today, we kept losing wickets consistently. But we can take some confidence going into the next game," Ramdin said after losing to India A by 16 runs at the Wankhede Stadium. (Rain Threatens First ODI Between India and West Indies)
Ramdin, who will skipper West Indies in the Test series, scored 102 on Sunday but didn't last long enough to prevent a back-to-back defeat. West Indies were chasing 283 but Ramdin's wicket caught them short. "It was a good day in terms of my glove-work and then batting and getting a good score," he said. "But I wasn't happy in terms of batting right down to the end and finishing off the game for the team," Ramdin was quoted in ESPNCricinfo.
Jason Holder and Darren Sammy got fifties, but the West Indies top order failed. "It's very important that our batters put runs on the board," Ramdin said. "We have to get early wickets and put their middle and lower order under pressure," Ramdin said, adding, Sunil Narine's absence will hurt the side. Narine has been taken off the tour after being called for chucking in the Champions League Twenty20.