Shai Hope and Hetmyer have proved themselves within a short time: Dwayne Bravo

With the World Cup less than six months away, a lot of teams have already started gearing up. The preparations have begun, the teams have started recognizing individuals they need for the tournament. Many teams will be acclimatized to the conditions having played the Champions Trophy in England except the Windies and Afghanistan.

Both teams also participated in the World Cup Qualifiers in order to qualify for the tournament next year. Dwayne Bravo was quite optimistic about his team’s chances in England. Having retired recently, the Caribbean all-rounder instilled faith in youngsters to take the team forward. He also praised Afghanistan for their recent achievements.

Hope and Hetmyer have proved themselves

The last time, Windies qualified for the semi-final of the mega event was way back in the 1996 edition. Bravo asserted that it is a young team this time around. He looked forward to watching Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels take up the senior role in the tournament. Bravo was also quite impressed with the recent performances from Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer.

“It’s a very young team. The likes of Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels will be the senior players. Although the team hasn’t been selected yet but I think they both will be there. Jason Holder, the captain. With those youngsters like Shai Hope, Hetmyer, they have a lot of talent. Both have showed that within the short time they have been playing. It’s just a matter of nurturing those talents. Windies have a chance,” he told ICC.

Afghan players will set the stage on fire 

Bravo felt that every team had an equal chance in the tournament. The former international cricketer also praised the Afghanistan team for the great character displayed on the field. After winning the World Cup Qualifiers, they also put up a strong performance in the Asia Cup. Bravo was of the opinion that the youngsters in their team would be raring to display their potential at the big stage.

“Everybody has a chance going into the World Cup. Even Afghanistan. I think their cricket has got to a different level. It’s going to be an exciting World Cup as always and everybody has a chance to win it. But those young players will definitely set the stage on fire.”

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