Ramdin joins TKR for Warriors test tonight
Vinode Mamchan
Published: Guardian
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Denesh Ramdin
Discarded West Indies wicketkeeper batsman Denesh Ramdin was snapped up by the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) as a replacement player and will get his first taste of action tonight against Guyana Amazon Warriors in a crucial game for the visitors when competition in the 2016 Hero CPL T20 tournament at the Providence Stadium from 7 pm.
With three losses from four matches the TKR will be coming up against the unbeaten Warriors seeking a moral boosting victory to re-chart its title defence.
Skipper Dwayne Bravo and his nervy bunch will look to tame the Warriors at a venue where they have never won before. In three previous clashes here, the Warriors remain undefeated. TKR will factor into that statistic that mystery bowler Sunil Narine is now in their ranks. When Bravo led the T&T Red Steel here, a year ago, the game went into a ‘Super Over’ and Narine became the first bowler to bowl a maiden in a ‘Super Over’.
Narine should be licking his chops going into this clash because the last time he played here, during the Tri-Series for the West Indies he relished the conditions. He grabbed six wickets in one encounter against South Africa in the Ballr Tri-series.
TKR is expected to play three spinners here and will most opt to continue with left arm orthodox Sulieman Benn despite the fact that he bowled one over in the last game at the Oval in T&T and was carted for 30 runs by Chris Gayle. Another left arm orthodox Nikita Miller is also expected to get a look in.
Meanwhile, the addition of Ramdin to the squad for the remainder of the tournament as replace for Javon Searles, who has been ruled out with an injury to his right shoulder.
Searles had featured in TKR’s defeat to Jamaica Tallawahs earlier this week in his solitary outing and has travelled to Guyana with the squad for today’s game.
However, after sustaining the injury he was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the tournament by Dr. Anyl Gopeesingh, a member of the CPL medical team.
Ramdin was originally slated to replace Fidel Edwards for the St Lucia Zouks’ first four games, but could not take up that assignment after picking up an injury in the final of the recent Tri-Series.
Having now recovered, and no longer in the Caribbean team Test set-up according to a tweet from him on Wednesday last inwhich he revealed a decision by Courtney Browne, the newly appointed chairman of the West Indies selection committee, he is now eligible to be a replacement player for the CPL tournament.
The 31-year-old, has played 58 T20 Internationals for the West Indies and was a member of their ICC World T20 winning squads in 2012 and 2016. He averages 16.19 with the bat in 20-over cricket and has taken 32 catches and 19 stumpings. Ramdin has a wealth of experience and has also played 74 Tests and 136 One-Day Internationals for the West Indies.
Having previously featured for Warriors in the CPL, Ramdin could come into the frame for the reigning champions.
The Warriors on the other hand will be looking to the impressive Australian Adam Zampa to wield his magic. The wrist spinner has caused many batsmen problems in this tournament and tonight is expected to be no different. Veerasammy Permaul is another who can create massive problems for TKR. He left arm orthodox grabbed 3/20 against Tallawahs and was almost unplayable. Added to him and Zampa will be Stephen Jacobs who opened the bowling with slow stuff.
There will be no lack of support for TKR as many Trinis have flown across the match but they are expected to be nullified by a massive home crowd, as tickets for the match have been sold out.
Teams
TRINBAGO KNIGHT RIDERS: Dwayne Bravo (captain), Brendon McCullum, Darren Bravo, Sunil Narine, Hashim Amla, Umar Akmal, Kevon Cooper, Sulieman Benn, Colin Munro, Denesh Ramdin, Anton Devcich, Ronsford Beaton, Nikita Miller, William Perkins, Yannick Cariah, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Hamza Tariq, Anderson Phillip.
Guyana Amazon Warriors: Dwayne Smith, Martin Guptill (c), Chris Lynn, Jason Mohammad, Chris Barnwell, Anthony Bramble (wk), Sohail Tanvir, Steven Jacobs, Rayad Emrit, Veerasammy Permaul, Adam Zampa.
www.guardian.co.tt/sport/2016-07-10/ramd...arriors-test-tonight
