West Indies have brought on board former top order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan to help prepare their players for the 50-over World Cup in England and Wales. Sarwan, who scored nearly 12,000 international runs across formats, joined the camp in Barbados where West Indies are currently preparing for the tri-nation series with Bangladesh and Ireland in Dublin next month. “I’ve come here to act as kind of a mentor to the players and try my best to assist them in any technical ways and with any shortcomings where I think they can improve,” Sarwan said in a Cricket West Indies statement.
“Our batsmen have struggled… with rotating the strike, so I’m trying to see how best we can get them to improve in this area. It’s not an overnight fix, but it’s important to share ideas with them, so they have something to build on.” West Indies head coach Floyd Reifer said it was important to have a “finisher” like Sarwan working with the batsmen. “We’re hoping he can help the batsmen get a better understanding of how to finish games – the mindset, how to approach batting first, how to approach batting last,” Reifer said. “He fitted in very well. He did a lot of talking and a lot of work with the batsmen.” West Indies have also added former Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and former fast bowlers Corey Collymore and Roddy Estwick to their coaching staff for the two tournaments. The two-times champions begin their World Cup campaign on May 31 against 1992 winners Pakistan at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.