Ramdin named Windies vice-captain
December 5th 2008

There were mixed reactions to the appointment of Denesh Ramdin as vice-captain of the West Indies team currently on tour of New Zealand.

A former T&T Under-19 captain, Ramdin has been named vice-captain of the West Indies team for the two Twenty20 Internationals and five One-day Internationals against New Zealand later this month.

Wicketkeeper/batsman Ramdin replaces Guyanese batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan as vice-captain.

The squad was announced by the regional selectors on Thursday. The West Indies Cricket Board noted that beanpole left-arm spin bowler Sulieman Benn has been named for the T20 Internationals only, but he will return to the Caribbean ahead of the ODI Series.

Former Convenor of the West Indies selection panel, Joey Carew was not too pleased with Ramdin’s elevation.

“ Three years ago, Sir Vivian Richards had advocated that Denesh Ramdin would be a good choice to lead the West Indies team. With the grestest respect for Sir Viv, I could not agree with him. Now three years later, maybe his words will come to past, and once again were are given a surprise decision by the West Indies cricket administrators,” Carew stated.

The former West Indies and T&T left-handed batsman noted that Ramdin needs to concentrate more on his cricket at the moment.

“ In my opinion, Ramdin needs to concentrate more on his cricket now and I would not think of side-tracking him with the responsibilities of the leadership,” Carew further stated.

Former T&T and West Indies off-spinner Rangy Nanan was elated at Ramdin’s elevation and hopes that this added responsibilty will work to his advantage.

“ I am elated for Denesh (Ramdin), being a person from the same village (Preysal). He has always shown that he has the potential to lead, being a former West Indies U-19 captain. I hope this responsibility will benefit his career and work to the advantage of the team,” Nanan said.

West Indies Squad:

Chris Gayle (captain), Denesh Ramdin (vice captain), Lionel Baker, Carlton Baugh Jr, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Fidel Edwards, Shawn Findlay, Xavier Marshall, Nikita Miller, Brendan Nash, Kieron Pollard, Daren Powell, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Jerome Taylor.