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Yannic Cariah was a surprise addition to the West Indies squad for the T20 World Cup to be held in Australia from October 16 to November 13. In his first series against New Zeland on the international stage last month, the 30-year-old impressed with both bat and ball, which helped him quickly break into the West Indies line-up.
To find a place in the Super 12 of the T20 World Cup, West Indies must first qualify by competing against Scotland, Zimbabwe and Ireland in the first round in Hobart. Cariah entered the squad as a replacement player for an injured Gudakesh Motie, the team’s left-arm spinner, who was recovering from a fractured finger at the time.
Cariah represented West Indies in the opening match of the ODI series against New Zealand in Bridgetown. Although he hasn’t played in a T20I since 2016, he has been a more reliable force on the domestic front since he started playing for Trinbago Knight Riders. The T20 World Cup will mark Cariah’s second international competition.
Cariah’s long but fruitful journey
With eight wickets in six matches and an economy rate of 4.21 in the 2010 Youth World Cup in New Zealand, Cariah was the second-best wicket-taker for the West Indies U-19 team. Jason Holder and Kraigg Brathwaite, two players from that group, continued to lead the way West Indians National team as captain. However, Cariah is a late bloomer as he made his international cricket debut in late August 2022.
Cariah performed superbly in his international debut, recording 1/49 in nine overs and contributing to West Indies’ only ODI win during their recent home campaign. Then, in his first match with the bat against New Zealand in the second ODI, Cariah led a late comeback by scoring 50 runs and setting a record 85-run stand for the ninth wicket with Alzarri Joseph, with only 64 deliveries. .
The West Indies have never had a higher ninth-wicket stand in ODI cricket. Coming into the game under pressure when West Indies were struggling at 27/6 in a hurried chase of 212 runs from 41 balls, Cariah demonstrated the tenacity that has brought him glory in Trinidad at regional level, smashing the spinners beautifully of New Zealand.
In June this year, Cariah led the WICB XI against a visiting Bangladesh team at Coolidge. Cariah scored a hat-trick for Queen’s Park Cricket Club earlier in May which helped them win the TTCB (Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board) T20 Championship. In December 2019, he also led the West Indies East side to their first Super 50 win.
Although Cariah has not seen the intricacies of the international set-up, he has seen success with numerous teams he has played for at the regional level. The amount of experience Cariah will bring to the West Indies line-up will be huge and the Caribbean side would be hoping for some game-changing contributions from Cariah as they aim to seal a place in the Super 12 at the World Cup.
