WEST Indies stand-in T20 captain Nicholas Pooran is confident his squad has enough firepower to be competitive against Pakistan in a three-match T20 series despite missing many highly-rated players because of covid19, injury and personal reasons.
The first match will bowl off at 9 am (TT time), on Monday. The second match will be played on Tuesday and the third and final match on Thursday.
The teams will then battle in a three-match One-Day International (ODI) series starting next Saturday.
On Saturday, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced that three players and one non-coaching member of team management tested positive for covid19.
The three players are left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell and all-rounders Roston Chase and Kyle Mayers.
Pooran is confident the players available can get the job done.
On Sunday, speaking to journalists on Zoom, Pooran said, 'It is unfortunate that a couple guys got covid, anyone can get it…we had original plans of what the (starting) XI was going to look like, who is going to play and who is not going to play…other guys are going to get the opportunity to showcase their talent and their ability, so looking forward to see those guys take their opportunity.'
No replacements have been drafted into the T20 squad. If needed, players from the ODI squad will be called on.
Regular T20 captain Kieron Pollard, along with Fabian Allen and Obed McCoy, are all unavailable because of injury.
Jason Holder, the only cricketer who plays all three formats for West Indies consistently, is being rested due to 'workload management' according to CWI.
The quartet of Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell and Lendl Simmons are unavailable due to personal reasons.
Players who were overlooked for the 2021 International Cricket Council T20 World Cup in October and November will get their chance to feature in the series.
Asked what he wants to see from the squad, Pooran said, 'It is a rebuilding stage for us now. It is unfortunate that we don't have other senior players here, but having said that I am very excited for one to see this new crop of players get onto a cricket field.'
West Indies will also be without the services of Dwayne Bravo, who retired from international cricket after the T20 World Cup.
Pooran said players like Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd and Dominic Drakes are three all-rounders who can try to fill Bravo's shoes.
'We just saw what they did in the recent (Abu Dhabi) T10 tournament and even at CPL (Caribbean Premier League), so there is a lot of talent there. I know Bravo has been grooming them as well and I am happy to see them on the cricket field when they get that opportunity and I know they are going to take full advantage of it and everyone will be proud of them.'
Pooran knows Pakistan will be a challenging team to overcome.
'Obviously Pakistan is playing really good. They had a really good (T20) World Cup…a really good 2021, but in saying that it is T20 cricket. You always have a chance in it…in T20 cricket it's anyone's game.'
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