Samuel Badree puts his weight behind West Indies to win their third 20-20 World Cup

Former West Indies spinner Samuel Badree has backed West Indies to win the upcoming edition of the 20-20 World Cup. West Indies have not had an ideal start to the campaign, having lost both their warm-up games. However, Badree feels that the Kieron Pollard-led side is packed with match-winners from top to bottom and are the prime contenders to win the title.

“Many people have pegged them as the favourites, and quite rightly so because of the match-winners in that line-up. Any one of their players can single-handedly win a game and the experience of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo to name just a few, with their ability to stay calm under pressure, will count for a lot,” India today quoted Badree.

West Indies will start their campaign against England on October 23 in Dubai. It will be a repeat of the 2016 20-20 World Cup final where West Indies defeated England to win their second title. Badree said West Indies will be more confident heading into the game as they have dominated England in recent times.

“The West Indies will be confident heading into their opening match of the 20-20 Men’s World Cup 2021 against England, which is a mouth-watering clash. They’re the defending champions and, of course, they won that incredible final against England in 2016. They also beat England in the first match of the Super 10 that year when Chris Gayle scored a brilliant hundred, so when it comes to 20-20 World Cups, the West Indies have had the upper hand,” said Badree.

Recalling the 2016 final, Badree said the camp was not very confident before the final over. Notably, Carlos Brathwaite had smashed Ben Stokes for four sixes in four balls to help West Indies chase 19 in the final over.

“Honestly, I thought we were done and dusted and we were out. I didn’t think we could get 19 runs, especially given the fact Carlos was facing the first ball of the over and Marlon who was on 85 not out wasn’t able to get on strike,” recalled Badree.

“It was Carlos’s first 20-20 World Cup, so he wasn’t an established player and although we all knew what he was capable of in the Caribbean, I thought a World Cup final might have got the better of him.

“Credit to him, he was able to pull that off but it was only when I saw the first two sixes that I thought we had a chance. When he hit the third one, I knew we’d won and it was an amazing feeling.”