Trinidad and Tobago Red Force senior forward Keagan Simmons is happy to be part of the West Indies Development Players Academy, which he said is opening up new opportunities for him to advance his game as he looks for a place in the old West Indies team.
The 23-year-old left-back earned a Red Force retainer contract for the 2022-23 season and was one of three T&T players selected for the Academy team that took part in the CG United Super50 Cup in November.
The other two T&T players in the Academy are goalkeeper Leonardo Julien and Tobago all-rounder Joshua James. T&T striker Kirstan Kallicharan and left-arm fast bowler Shaaron Lewis are on the reserve list for the Academy.
According to Cricket West Indies, the aim of the Academy is to bridge the gap after the West Indies U-19 level and assist players in their progression to one of the territorial board’s six franchise teams, with the aim of them graduating to earn a such. of the 15 retainer contracts available on each team.
Simmons said he has always set the bar high for himself and knew the transition from youth to senior cricket would be a challenge. The Covid-19 pandemic certainly didn’t make things any easier.
“I definitely did not expect Covid. As a young player, it’s definitely difficult to know where you’re going to be in a few years because it’s really new territory coming out of age group and under-19 cricket, but I’ve always had confidence in myself that if you always put in the hard work, I will be able to consistently perform at the regional level,” Simmons recently told the Express.
“After making my debut in 2019 for Trinidad, I really expected a lot from myself over the next few years, but unfortunately, we didn’t play much cricket after that. But I’m happy to be part of the developing West Indies team and part of the Red Force line-up and I’m happy with the year I’ve had and I’m just looking to improve and be more consistent next year.”
Simmons also believes that being part of the Academy and the formation of the Red Force will be a plus for him.
“It’s definitely different. Within the Red Force squad, I would have been more familiar with the players by playing with them and training with them for several years. The West Indies Academy team is certainly a very professional group, with coaches from across the region and some foreign coaches as well. The benefits of being in both groups is that you learn a lot more from different players,” Simmons said.
“In the Trinidad set-up, you have experienced guys like Darren Bravo and Imran Khan and it’s always good to learn from these guys. And in the Academy structure, there are other opportunities to learn from different coaches and players. I think it opens up new opportunities to expand my game,” added the former West Indies U-19 player.
