St John’s, Antigua: Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced opening batsman Kraigg Brathwaite as the new Test captain ahead of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka.
Brathwaite will take over from Jason Holder, who led the side in 37 Tests since 2015.
The opener is the 37th player to have been named the West Indies’ men’s Test captain and goes into the role having already led them seven times in the absence of Holder.
He most recently captained them to a 2-0 series win in Bangladesh and his next assignment will be defeating Sri Lanka in the Caribbean when their two-Test series starts later this month.
“It is a huge honour to be given the captaincy of the West Indies Test team. I feel extremely proud and humbled that the Board and selectors have given me the opportunity and responsibility to lead the team,” Brathwaite said.
“The recent Test series win in Bangladesh was a fantastic achievement and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and I’m excited about what I believe this team can achieve in the future,” he added.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Lead Selector Roger Harper pointed to the West Indies’ recent success in Bangladesh as evidence of Brathwaite’s suitability for the role.
“We all believe that Kraigg is the right man to lead our Test side at this point in time and I’m delighted that he has accepted the role,” Harper said.
“In the recent Test series against Bangladesh, Kraigg was able to motivate his players to play to a very high level and create the culture we are looking to establish where the team showed a collective determination to fight and a real hunger for success,” he added.
Holder was thanked by Jimmy Adams, CWI Director of Cricket, for everything he had achieved across his 37 Tests in charge - the fifth most by a West Indies Test captain.
“On behalf of CWI, I would like to thank Jason for all he has given to the game in the region while serving as captain of our Test team,” said Adams.
“Throughout his five-and-a-half-year tenure, he has led with dignity while always upholding the highest values of the sport,” he added.
Holder is the top-ranked all-rounder in Test rankings and took on the role from Denesh Ramdin in 2015. He helped the side achieve 11 wins and five draws while also suffering 21 defeats.
The CWI Director of Cricket added that Holder still had a significant part to play in the Test team.
“As the world’s leading Test all-rounder, we all believe that Jason still has a tremendous role to play in West Indies Test Cricket for many years to come,” he said. (UNI)
