Windies vs ICC ROW XI: Match Preview, Venue Details, Team News
The Windies Cricket Team will face off against an ICC Rest of the World XI, to raise funds for stadiums damaged by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Ronald Webster Park in Anguilla and Windsor Park in Dominica were the damaged stadiums.
The match will be hosted by Lord's, and will be a star-studded affair with players from seven countries included in the ROW squad. Shahid Afridi and Luke Ronchi will make a temporary return to international cricket, as the match was granted T20I status by the ICC.
The ROW squad is supremely balanced despite some last-moment replacements. It will be Dinesh Karthik's first T20I since that innings in the Nidahas Trophy Final, and his stature has only increased over the past couple of months in a successful captaincy stint for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Rashid Khan will undoubtedly be the biggest threat for the Windies batsmen, and they must tackle him smartly if they are to compete in the match.
It's been a while since Chris Gayle last played a match-defining innings at the international level, and against an average pace-bowling attack, he will fancy his chances.
The Carlos Brathwaite-led Windies will be keen to justify their tag of World T20 Champions and with the cause being relief for people in the Caribbean, it will motivate the players even more.
Match Details
Date: May 31, 2018
Time: 10:30 pm IST (17:00 GMT, 18:00 Local)
Venue: Lord's Cricket Ground, London
Weather could play spoilsport, as thunderstorms are forecast for match day
Watch out for
Ever since Pakistani players were barred from playing in the Indian Premier League, fans have been deprived of the opportunity of watching players from India and Pakistan represent the same team. However, this time around, India's Dinesh Karthik and Mohammed Shami will play alongside Pakistan's Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, in what promises to be an exciting prospect for the fans.
Afghanistan's Rashid Khan and Nepal's Sandeep Lamichhane share a similar story of leading their countries to relevance in world cricket at a very young age and them bowling in tandem in an international match will be huge for the game. Khan recently mentioned that he idolizes Afridi, and the teenage sensation will be keen to share the dressing room with him.
Andre Russell will return to international cricket after serving a 12-month doping-related ban. The all-rounder last played for Windies in August 2016 and is fresh off a good IPL season for KKR.
Team News
The likes of Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine continue to be ignored by the Windies Cricket Board, owing to misunderstandings yet to be resolved. Nevertheless, a strong squad comprising Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Marlon Samuels and Andre Russell among others should pose a stiff challenge to the opposition.
Windies (likely): 1) Chris Gayle 2) Evin Lewis 3) Marlon Samuels 4) Andre Fletcher/Denesh Ramdin [wk] 5) Andre Russell 6) Rovman Powell 7) Carlos Brathwaite [c] 8) Rayad Emrit/Keemo Paul 9) Kesrick Williams 10) Ashley Nurse 11) Samuel Badree
Original captain Eoin Morgan (injured), Hardik Pandya (viral illness) and Shakib Al Hasan (personal reasons) were ruled out ahead of the match and replaced by Sam Billings, Mohammed Shami and Adil Rashid respectively, while Afridi was named captain. English seamers Sam Curran and Tymal Mills were also added to the squad as cover.
ICC World XI (likely): 1) Tamim Iqbal 2) Luke Ronchi 3) Shoaib Malik 4) Sam Billings 5) Dinesh Karthik [wk] 6) Shahid Afridi [c] 7) Thisara Perera 8) Rashid Khan 9) Sandeep Lamichhane 10) Mitchell McClenaghan 11) Mohammed Shami
Quotes
"Obviously it has been listed as a charity game and the reason we're playing the game is for charity but personally there's a lot of pride involved and as a West Indies player and a West Indies captain and also a fan of West Indies cricket, every time you take the field I want to win and I want to give a hundred per cent" - Carlos Brathwaite
"It's a great honour to be leading the ICC World XI side, that too for such a good cause. I'm sure all the players from either side are looking forward to the match with great enthusiasm and people will get to see some high-quality cricket on Thursday" - Shahid Afridi on Twitter
Full Squads:
Windies: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Samuel Badree, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Kesrick Williams.
ICC World XI: Shahid Afridi (c), Sam Billings, Sam Curran, Tamim Iqbal, Tymal Mills, Dinesh Karthik, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Mitchell McClenaghan, Shoaib Malik, Thisara Perera, Luke Ronchi, Adil Rashid.