Two of the most unpredictable teams in world cricket will come up against each other from Friday in all three formats of the game and West Indies leg-spinner Samuel Badree agrees with the similarity.
“Pakistan are very similar to us in terms of their consistency — or lack, thereof,” Badree said. “One day they will give a brilliant performance, just like us, then the next, they leave a lot to be desired.”
Badree, one of the top bowlers in the T20 format, will lead the West Indies challenge from Friday when they play the first of three matches at Dubai.
The Trinidadian was mindful of the dangerous nature of the Asians: “Pakistan is a very, very dangerous team which can demolish any opposition, and we are wary of that challenge. We respect every opposition that we come up against, and we are going to do the same against Pakistan. We are going to prepare well, knowing that Pakistan is a very, very dangerous team.”
The West Indies go into the T20 series as world champs having won the International Cricket Council (ICC) World T20 title in India in March. Pakistan is currently ranked seventh in the format. West Indies have some new faces from that team that won the finals against England. They also have a new captain in Carlos Brathwaite who led them to a 1-0 win over India recently at Broward, USA.
Missing out on the UAE games are the dangerous Jamaican pair of Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, as well as the Trinidadian opener Lendl Simmons.
Badree continued: “It’s a different team from the team that won the World T20. We have a lot of new guys, a few players who are making their debuts on this tour. A number of our guys have been here before — the likes of (Sunil) Narine, (Dwayne) Bravo, (Kieron) Pollard. So we are looking forward to some very good games and, of course, we’d like to win the series and remain as one of the best T20 teams in the world.”