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New 'kids' in town set for the big league

The West Indies may be a pale shadow of the invincible Test side of the 70s but they continue to amaze in the most abbreviated format of the game that is the T20.
They are the reigning world champions and have an assembly line of cricketers, so to speak, tailor-made for the format.
The West Indies T20 squad is not the same that won the World Twenty20 in India with Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy as well as Andre Russell missing for various reasons.
And in their absence, three rookies - batsman Nicholas Pooran, all-rounder Rovman Powell and fast bowler Kesrick Williams - are in line to make their debut in the big league and continue West Indies' tradition in the format.
The three could make their international debut against Pakistan in the T20 series which starts on Friday.
For the 20-year-old Pooran, it almost wouldn't have been after an accident almost ended his career two years ago.
"My story has changed a lot. It was a bit difficult for me as a young boy. I started at about 17 at CPL, then, at 19 I got into an accident. I just thank God I'm back playing," Pooran said on the sidelines of a practice session.
"It's been difficult and I just started back playing this year and fortunately I was picked for this series. I've trained a lot and put in hard work day and night, and I know at the end of the day hard work pays off," added the 21-year-old, who is also the backup wicketkeeper on this tour.
Pooran made his case for selection with a quick-fire and unbeaten 47 from just 23 balls against an ECB XI in the warm-up game on Tuesday night.
"It's a dream come true. I always thought I'd play for West Indies at 21, I'm 21 at the moment. When I was a youngster, I sat at home and watched these guys win two World Cups and it's an amazing moment for me. This is a moment I will always remember and I'm just trying to take this opportunity and make full use of it," said Pooran, who scored 217 runs for the Barbados Tridents in the CPL.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Rovman Powell, too impressed in the warm-up game with 38 from 31 balls.
"Recently, I made my debut in first class cricket for Jamaica and after that I represented the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League. I'm from a humble beginning and I think that hard work is the key thing that has led me this far," said the 23-year-old Powell.
"Getting the call from Courtney Browne, was the happiest day of my life. I know, that dreams do come true," he added.
"As I said before, I'm from a small but humble background, single parent being my mom so what I do is try to use my life to pay her back for all she's done for me. I've grown up and experienced a lot of hardships, I've experienced poverty and that is my driving force. Going forward I want to make sure that my mom is taken care of, that is my dream, that is my aim," Powell said.
Meanwhile, Kesrick Williams received a late call-up as a replacement for Andre Russell.
"It's really fantastic to be called up for the West Indies team. It's something that every young man would dream about to play international cricket. It's certainly a pleasure, I'm ready to go, hungry for it and determination is there. I'm just ready to go out there and execute and perform," said Williams.
"It was just hard work and determination that has taken me through. I knew what I had to do and I did just that. When you get an opportunity just grab it with both and hands and do what you're supposed to do, that's how I got here today," he added. - james@khaleejtimes.com