LEGEND SPEAKS

West Indies have 'a great chance' of winning 2016 World T20: Ambrose

by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on

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Curtly Ambrose, West Indies' bowling consultant, has said that his side has a 'great chance' of winning the upcoming ICC World T20 in India. Not only did West Indies win the 2012 edition of the tournament, but have also been one of the best sides in T20 Internationals since then. Currently, they are ranked No. 3 in the format, as per ICC Rankings.

"Look at the team that we have, half of the team are in demand across the world for different T20 leagues," Ambrose was quoted as saying by Antigua Observer on Wednesday (February 24). "So you may find one guy here, maybe two in this league and two in another league but we have all at once so we have a great chance of winning this T20 tournament, just look at our squad."

West Indies are placed in Group 1 for the World T20, where they will be facing off against Sri Lanka, England, South Africa and the top side qualifying from Group B.

Ambrose believes that the pool of experienced T20 stars in their side makes them an extremely strong unit. "The senior players - Marlon Samuel, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, captain Darren Sammy and all the senior players have to lead from the front," he pointed out. "From my experience over the years, when the senior players - the guys that we expect to really take the mantle and take the team forward - are doing well, automatically the younger players will step up to the plate."

Even as the players have resolved their issues with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and signed the annual contracts, three players - Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine - have backed out of the tournament for reasons other than pay disputes.

While Bravo cited the reason of wanting to concentrate in Tests as the reason to back out of World T20, Narine pulled out due to "lack of sufficient progress" in getting his bowling action cleared. Pollard, who suffered a knee injury in November 2015, is yet to recover fully.

The backing out of the trio from World T20 has left the team without their strongest-possible squad.

© Cricbuzz

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