Five things to know about the West Indies team to play at the World Twenty20 tournament:
Chris Gayle
In opener Gayle, the defending champions have the most proficient match-winner in the T20 format. Gayle is capable of snatching a game away from any opposition and can be instrumental in building a strong target.
Gayle smashed a decisive 75 in the 2012 semi-final against Australia and has plenty of records in T20. He has a record 11 T20 centuries with a top score of 175 off just 66 deliveries in the Indian Premier League, which he struck last year.
Sunil Narine
A change in bowling action has turned Sunil Narine into a dangerous prospect in Twenty20 cricket.
The off-spinner had played no domestic limited-overs cricket when he was first picked for the Champions League T20 tournament by Trinidad and Tobago.
He was soon referred to bio-mechanical experts in Australia because of a suspect bowling action, and some small tweaks made the world of difference.
Narine went from there to earn a place in the West Indies squad and then became a prized T20 player in professional leagues, including in India. He can prove brutally effective with support from leg-spinner Samuel Badri.
Specialist players
Darren Sammy, the West Indies captain, believes the demand for Caribbean players in international professional leagues makes his team a top contender to progress to the knockout stages, even from a difficult group containing India, Pakistan and Australia.
There are a dozen West Indies players featuring in the Indian Premier League, including some of the competition’s biggest stars.
As Sammy said: “Gayle, Bravo, Narine are all marquee players.”
Football folly
The West Indies can blame football for the absence of one its star cricketers at the World T20.
Big-hitting all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who had smashed 38 off only 15 deliveries in the 2012 World T20 semi-final against Australia, is the only top star missing from the squad after he injured his knee while playing in a charity football match.
All square
The West Indies have an almost 50-50 record in cricket’s shortest format with 25 wins and 27 losses from 56 games, with two ties and one no-result.
In the World T20s they have won nine and lost nine from 20 games with one tie and one no-result.
They had mixed fortunes at the previous tournament, losing to Australia and Sri Lanka, one no-result against Ireland and a tied game against New Zealand.
They were fortunate to make the knockout stages, but lifted for the big matches to beat Australia by 74 runs in the semi-final and Sri Lanka by 36 runs in the final.
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