West Indies’ exit from the World T20 could potentially end an era during which the Caribbean side produced some of the most sought-after T20 players.
The likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Samuel Badree, Marlon Samuels and Daren Sammy have made their impact on the format globally, appearing in numerous leagues and playing a role in West Indies winning two World T20 titles.
For that trend to continue, captain Pollard believes there has to be another domestic tournament alongside the Caribbean Premier League which would provide an avenue for more homegrown talents to be harnessed.
“I think it’s something we have to look at. It’s something that has plagued us over a period of time. For the last 10 years or so we have had sort of the same guys playing T20 and sort of dominating as we go along,” Pollard said after his team exited the semi-final race of the World T20 with defeat to Sri Lanka on Thursday.
“One of the things we need to do is that we need to have another tournament other than CPL where we can unearth new talents. When we had the Caribbean T20 that was an opportunity for people to bring new talents from different parts of the Caribbean and we sort of have a nucleus for this last generation.”
He reasoned that with the franchise-based CPL there has been a ‘recycling of players.’ Another tournament similar to the Caribbean T20 would allow for the exposure of more homegrown talents, thereby making the pool for selection wider.
It is something Pollard is hoping would materialise, as West Indies look to make the transition from the current group to the next generation.
“There are some young and exciting players and hopefully we can find the right mix of these young guys coming up and making a step up and hopefully coming and contribute to the success of West Indies cricket.”
The defending champions failed to make the semi-final after losing to Sri Lanka by 20 runs in a must-win game on Thursday, chasing 190.
It was the Caribbean side’s third defeat in four games in the Super 12 stage of the World Cup. They also lost the two warm-up matches in the lead-up to the global showpiece.
Pollard’s men play their final group game of the event on Saturday against Australia, starting 06:00h.
