Hobart: Ahead of the start of West Indies’ campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup with the game against Scotland in Group B of the First Round here on Monday, skipper Nicholas Pooran has said a lot of people might be having doubts the side might not even qualify for the Super 12, but promised whatever be the outcome the team will “stick together”.
Two-time T20 World champions West Indies have to go through the grind of the First Round where the top two teams from each group go into the Super 12 stage, and Pooran’s side will take on the gritty Scotland in their first Group B encounter in Hobart on Monday.
“Yeah, it (qualifying for Super 12 and then win the World Cup) would definitely be something special. Obviously for this group here, it’s a new group, new faces; a lot of younger players in the team. For us to obviously win this World Cup, it would be our biggest achievement as individuals,” said Pooran.
“We are underdogs in this tournament as much as we have won the tournament twice, and a lot of people, a lot of media you see, a lot of people don’t think we can even qualify (for Super 12), as well. So it will mean a lot for us. We spoke about sticking this time together. Whether we win or lose we’re going to stick together as a group, so winning this tournament, yeah, obviously we need to work really hard, but it would mean the world to us,” he added.
Team management
The wicketkeeper-batter added the team management is yet to select the Playing XI for the opener, given the conditions in Hobart, which are a bit cold for his players.
“Yeah, we obviously have to select the team still. It’s quite early here in Australia. We haven’t sat down and discussed who’s playing tomorrow. The makeup of the team obviously varies due to the conditions here obviously, here in Hobart which has been cold for a while now, we have to go back and look at it.”
Pooran said the game against Scotland will be tough though he expressed confidence in the ability of his team-mates and the fact that they had got the opportunity to acclimatise to the conditions for nearly a fortnight.
“Yeah, it’ll be a challenge (playing against Scotland). But our guys are confident. We’ve been here for over two weeks now. I think the guys are ready to go and acclimatising to these conditions. A lot of these guys haven’t played in Australia. This will be the first time, but the guys are confident, they’re happy. The preparation has been really good, and we just can’t wait for tomorrow to start our game.”
