West Indies have named a near-full strength 18-member provisional squad for their upcoming T20I series against South Africa, Pakistan and Australia.

With the T20 World Cup later this year, Rohit Sankar looks at what West Indies’ best available XI is, considering options both within and outside the squad named for these bilateral series.

Strongest West Indies XI for T20 World Cup

Openers

Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle

West Indies have Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons and Andre Fletcher as options at the top of the order in the T20I squad named. There are limited options outside the group and so the choice is likely to be between Lewis, Simmons and Fletcher to partner Gayle.

While Simmons and Fletcher offer right-handed options to complement Gayle, Lewis is the outright winner among the three for his explosiveness and ability to win matches pretty much on his own. Gayle’s preference to settle down before going big also makes it imperative that his non-striker can start well and Lewis is the best among the three to do that.

Middle-order

Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kieron Pollard (c)

West Indies have plenty of in the middle and by the looks of it, they are likely to boast the most dynamic middle-order when the T20 World Cup comes around.

Deciding the top four will involve answering another major query – if Gayle and Lewis open, can West Indies afford to have two more left-handers at No.3 and No.4?

Pushing either of Hetmyer or Pooran down the order – something both Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings did with little success – isn’t ideal given their ability to take down spinners in the middle overs. An emerging weakness against pace and bounce does not make their case for batting near the death overs strong enough, especially given the kind of options West Indies have down the order.

Pollard and Andre Russell are two others in the West Indies XI that can also do the floating role to break up the monotony in the top four, but Hetmyer and Pooran are so good against spin that if teams choose to bowl off-spin to them as a match-up plan, the duo are good enough to thwart those plans.

All-rounders

Andre Russell, Fabian Allen, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine

The return of Andre Russell makes the West Indies an incredibly intimidating side heading into the T20I series and if things go to plan, he will surely play the World Cup too. Fabian Allen is another dynamic option down the order with Jason Holder pipping Dwayne Bravo on account of his new-ball abilities.

Sunil Narine is outside the 18-man squad but should still come under consideration for the T20 World Cup. While his ability to pick wickets has reduced significantly, Narine is still West Indies’ best option in the spin department with Hayden Walsh yet to make the step up. Akeal Hosein and Kevin Sinclair are exciting options to have in the team and if Narine does not make the cut, one of the two, likely Sinclair, should make the XI.

Bowlers

Sheldon Cottrell, Obed McCoy

With each of the four all-rounders giving enough bowling options, West Indies need just two outright bowlers to complete their XI.

Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards and Obed McCoy are the pure fast bowling options in the squad. A few others like Alzarri Joseph and Chemar Holder remain outside the side and are possible contenders.

With Holder, a powerplay option, and Russell, a death bowling option, already occupying set roles, West Indies need few more options in the powerplay and death role.

Obed McCoy has shown he can do the job in the middle overs with his hard lengths and can also be used in the death. He edges Fidel Edwards only because West Indies have Holder and Cottrell to manage in the powerplay where Edwards is most effective.