Coach Sammy's first test as West Indies stars take on UAE's bright talents
West Indies and UAE are set to play their first bilateral international series from June 4 to June 9 in Sharjah. This is a chance for the teams to ramp up their prep for the ICC ODI World Cup qualifier, which is set to begin on June 18 in Zimbabwe. Here are a few things to look out for in this series.
In focus: Coach Daren Sammy
Daren Sammy hasn't even coached West Indies in one competitive game yet, but his selection has already been questioned in the Caribbean. Former West Indies batter Ramnaresh Sarwan is the latest to question Sammy's appointment ahead of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had led Jamaica Tallawahs to the CPL title last season.
Sammy is no stranger to taking charge of a side amid turmoil. More than a decade ago, Sammy had been named West Indies' captain in a major shake-up after having played just eight Tests. He thrived as a leader, particularly in T20 cricket, marshalling West Indies to world titles in 2012 and 2016. Can he find similar success as a coach though he had never done this role in international cricket before?
Sammy has already had "in-depth" discussions with Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Evin Lewis and Sunil Narine about their return to the West Indies side, but for now he has to contend with the absence of the seniors. Among them, Hetmyer had publicly made himself available for the upcoming World Cup qualifier later this month but was eventually left out of the squad.
Paul, Drakes return
Both Keemo Paul and Dominic Drakes have overcome injuries to come back into West Indies' white-ball team. Odean Smith is also part of the squad for the UAE tour, but among the seam-bowling allrounders Paul seems to be the frontrunner to start at the World Cup qualifier along with Romario Shepherd, who has been rested for the UAE series following his IPL stint with Lucknow Super Giants. Paul was with the Super Giants in India, too, as a net bowler, having worked with the Super Giants franchise in the inaugural SA20.
Paul had also proven his form and fitness for Guyana in the West Indies championship in March before heading to the IPL. Paul gives West Indies an extra new-ball option and also has T10 experience in the Emirates, having been part of Delhi Bulls in the most recent edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 league.
As for Drakes, he can also bowl with the new ball and has T10 experience with Bulls, but he isn't part of the West Indies side for the World Cup qualifier. Raymon Reifer is the other left-arm seam-bowling allrounder in the squad for the UAE trip.
Sinclair, Cariah in the spin mix
With Akeal Hosein taking a break after his maiden IPL stint and fellow left-arm fingerspinner Gudakesh Motie injured, West Indies have recalled offspinner Kevin Sinclair. The 23-year-old last played for West Indies in August 2022, but he elbowed his way back into the side on the back of a strong domestic season, where had contributed handsomely with the bat as well.
Sinclair also turned in all-round performances for West Indies A in Sylhet last month and is set to step into Hosein's shoes in the UAE. He will likely be paired up with wristspinner Yannic Cariah, who had travelled with the West Indies senior team to South Africa and then more recently with the West Indies A team to Bangladesh. Roston Chase and Kavem Hodge are the other spin-bowling options for West Indies.
If Sinclair starts for West Indies in Sharjah on June 4, he will have a short turnaround, having only finished his West Indies A duty in Bangladesh on June 2.
Will Athanaze make his WI debut?
The highly-rated Alick Athanaze is among four uncapped players in West Indies' squad for the UAE series. Athanaze was the leading run-getter at the Under-19 World Cup in 2018, ahead of Shubman Gill, but early in his domestic career he was dropped by Windward Islands. That snub fuelled him to work even harder to become one of the mainstays of Windward Islands' batting and the captain of the team.
Athanaze had also recently captained Team Weekes in the Headley Weekes tri-series at home. Earlier in the Super50 Cup, West Indies' 50-over domestic tournament, Athanaze was Windward Islands' top scorer, with 292 runs in six innings at an average of 48.66 and strike rate of 96.05, and sixth highest overall.
Athanze, though, isn't part of West Indies' side for the World Cup qualifier, but his left-handedness at the top or middle, especially in the absence of Kyle Mayers and Nicholas Pooran, could help West Indies counter UAE legspinner Karthik Meiyappan and left-arm fingerspinner Aayan Khan.
Aravind, Waseem, and UAE's WI connection
The T10 and ILT20 leagues in the Emirates have somewhat helped UAE bridge the gap between their local tournaments and international cricket. The franchise leagues have also given UAE's bright talents the chance to work with the West Indian stars. Both captain Muhammad Waseem and wicketkeeper Vriitya Aravind were part of the MI Emirates side in the ILT20, which also included Nicholas Pooran, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Fletcher. Waseem had emerged as MI Emirates' second-highest scorer in the tournament, behind Pollard, while Aravind got the opportunity to pick the brains of Pooran.
Aravind's boundary-line chat with Carlos Brathwaite - they were team-mates at Chennai Braves in the T10 league - was among the most defining images of the ILT20.
Aravind, who was the second-highest run-getter in ODI cricket last year, suffered a slump this year, but is back to form once again, having rattled up scores of 185 and 174 in the ACC Premier Cup in Nepal. He is now 19 runs away from surpassing Rohan Mustafa as UAE's top scorer in ODI cricket.