By Paras Ramoutar, IANS,
Port of Spain : Denesh Ramdin, a Trinidadian whose forefathers came from India between 1845 and 1917 to work on sugar and cocoa plantations, has been named the captain of the West Indies cricket team that will face England in a series of one-day games starting here Sunday.
Ramdin, the incumbent vice-captain, is a noted wicketkeeper and batsman. The 23-year-old takes over the captaincy from Chris Gayle who is nursing a hamstring injury.
Ramdin is the first Trinidadian of Indian origin and the fourth person from the Indian diaspora in the West Indies to get the prized position. Others were Rohan Kanhai, Alvin Kallicharan and Shivanarine Chanderpaul – all from Guyana.
On being declared the new skipper, Ramdin, a former West Indies Youth Under 19 captain, said: “I will do my utmost to ensure that the West indies comes up on top in these matches.”
Ramdin was coached by prominent cricket coach Boya Sahadeo, a local government representative at the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, ably assisted by Premnath Ramnath, another local government representative.
Sahadeo, who is manager and coach of Trinidad and Tobago’s Under 15 Cricket Team, said in an interview that he was elated that Ramdin, who came from very humble beginnings, had reached the pinnacle of West Indian and world cricket.
“Ramdin had always demonstrated an unique capacity to be both a team player and a leader, both features of his personality which are now fully manifest,” Sahadeo said.
Former sports minister Manohar Ramsaran said the “importance of training, discipline and a cricket acumen, are always visible in Denesh. He is worthy of this honour”.
Ramdin has played in 34 Test matches, and silenced his critics following his maiden Test century, scoring 166 in the last match against England at the Queen’s Park Oval.