Ravi Rampaul

In a largely mediocre West Indies team who have suffered due to the the absence of their stars thanks to the conflict with the the board, Ravi Rampaul has stood out with consistent performances. With a simple, fluid action Rampaul troubles the batsmen with both pace and accuracy.

Rampaul however struggled to live upto his expectations during the initial stages of his career. After being handed his international debut in 2003 in an ODI against Zimbabwe, Rampaul struggled to make an impact for his side. He averaged in excess of 1 wicket per games only once in his first 6 years when he picked 13 wickets in 10 matches in 2007. Rampaul was also notorious for giving away far too many extras a problem he has cut down with good effect in recent times.

Rampaul career and performance has often been dogged by injuries. However after his return from a leg injury in 2006, Rampaul has shown remarkable improvement moving into the spearhead role, along with Jerome Taylor.

He was picked in the WC squad in 2011 and made an impact picking up 5 wickets against hosts India and followed that up with a stand out performance against Pakistan in a 2 Test series by taking 11 wickets. In the series against India, Rampaul was key to West Indies with his ability to strike with the new ball and get the ball to move both ways. He ended with 10 wickets in the 3 match series that WI lost 1-0.

Constant injuries and inconsistent performances have affected Rampaul's career throughout all formats. Although, he is a fine exponent of the bouncer and yorker, he lacks swing to trouble quality opposition. Rampaul was grabbed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013 for the sixth IPL season.

He did not figure in the Test series in New Zealand but played ODIs in Auckland and Queenstown. Unfortunately he sustained a thumb fracture, which forced him to withdraw from the T20Is. Rampaul returned for the T20 Cup in Bangladesh but was edged out of the XI by the versatile

Krishmar Santokie. He was bought back by Bangalore in the 2014 Indian T20 League auctions.

By Vishaal Loganathan

As April 2014