Nicholas Pooran has retained the vice-captaincy for the T20I series in New Zealand while Roston Chase has been made the deputy in Tests, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Thursday (November 12).
Pooran was first named the vice-captain in 2019, being a certainty in the line-up with his magnificent batsmanship. Chase, integral to the Test line-up, has replaced opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who was the deputy to skipper Jason Holder on West Indies' tour to UK earlier this year.
Read Also: West Indies squad cleared to leave isolation after negative COVID-19 testing
"Roston Chase has been appointed vice-captain of the West Indies Test Team for this tour of New Zealand. He is an experienced player who is tactically aware and very purposeful in his approach to the game," said chief selector Roger Harper in a media release.
"He is readily willing to offer advice and discuss ideas with his fellow players and the coaches and I think will offer good leadership support to captain Jason Holder both on and off the field."
"Nicholas Pooran continues in the role of vice-captain of the T20I Team for the tour of New Zealand. He was first named vice-captain for this format for the series against Afghanistan in 2019," he added.
Pooran, who featured for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in this year's edition of the IPL, has played 21 T20Is for West Indies and is a consistently improved performer.
"I see this as another opportunity to learn and grow in the game. I was vice-captain for the tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year, so this is continuation of that work," said Pooran.
"It’s always good to share your knowledge as we look to continue the winning mentality. We were successful in Sri Lanka and this is a series we believe we can get more success against New Zealand."
Chase has batted in 30 Tests at the highest level with 1,852 runs, including 5 hundreds and 8 half-centuries. He has also been regularly seen helping shoulder the burden of the attack with his off-spinners.
"I have been making strides in Test cricket since my debut back in 2016 and I see this new role as vice-captain as an honour," he said. "It is just for me to try and carry on and try to achieve great things for West Indies.
"It is all about offering support to the captain, coach and other players as we try to plan strategy and put more wins on the board."
West Indies will face New Zealand in 3 T20Is and 2 Tests on their trip.
The T20I series will kickstart on November 27 in Auckland before teams move to Mount Maunganui for second and the third T20Is on November 29 and 30, respectively.
Hamilton will host the first Test from December 3. The tour rounds-off with the second Test in Wellington, starting December 11.
