Samuel Badree

A leggie, who hurries even the best of batsmen with his skidders and unerring accuracy, Samuel Badree has grown leaps and bounds to become West Indies' chief marksman in the T20 format. And he is no foreigner to the sitting atop ICC T20 rankings. Though he relies more on the quicker ones, Badree also possesses a nifty googly up his sleeve, hardly needing to ever rely on a gripping leg break.

And it is no surprise that he more often than not takes the new ball for Windies. He was part of the team that won the World T20 in India in 2016.

The journey to the top, though, was laden with obstacles. Badree's debut in first-class cricket came in the 2001/02 season but he took his time to find his feet and later establish himself in the Trinidad and Tobago line-up.

He raked in the moolah, being a part of the winning Trinidad and Tobago side which bested Middlesex in the Stanford Super Series. However, it was his World T20 league success in 2011 that grabbed eyeballs. Dealing with the new ball, Badree finished third on the economy charts, second only to Sunil Narine and Brett Lee.

His remarkable consistency in the abbreviated format did not go unnoticed as he was selected for West Indies' short T20I tour to USA against New Zealand. Since then Badree has been a crucial cog in the West Indian T20 machinery.

Arguably, Saqlain Mushtaq's influence elevated his powers further. The former Pakistan spinner, who was the initial purveyor of doosra, worked closely with Badree and Narine in his stint as the spin bowling consultant for West Indies.

The champagne moment for the Trinidad and Tobago twirler ensued when he snared 4-15, spinning West Indies to a mammoth win against hosts Bangladesh in the T20 cup. He continued to shine in the T20 Cup, claiming wickets whilst simultaneously applying the brakes on the rival batsmen.

Despite his T20 antics, Badree continues to be overlooked for ODIs and a Test berth remains a touch far on the horizon.

After serving Rajasthan Royals for a brief period, Badree was signed up by Chennai Super Kings for the seventh season of the Indian Premier League. He then later went on to represent Royal Challengers Bangalore, too. He made his presence felt in the inaugural version of the CPL as well.

Badree was unsold at the 2018 IPL auctions.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan