Rovman Powell has expressed pride in his tenure as West Indies T20I captain, describing it as pretty successful and very good. Under his leadership, the West Indies enjoyed a notable resurgence in the shortest format, climbing from ninth to third place in the ICC T20I rankings.
Powell also highlighted his gratitude for having represented the Caribbean in over 100 T20 Internationals, a milestone he considers a major personal achievement. Powell led the side in 37 T20Is during his full-time captaincy
stint from March 2023 to December 2024, including the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, which the West Indies co-hosted alongside the USA.
"A lot of the stuff in your career you didn't set out to achieve. You started with the ambition to play for the West Indies. That was the goal. And now the global landscape of cricket has grown over the last 10-15 years so much where now you also play for different franchises around the world. I set out to play for the West Indies, and now I've played over 100 T20I games - it's something that I'm grateful for. I've moved the team from ninth in the rankings to No. 3 in the world,” said Powell as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“Those are the little things that during the duration of your career you feel proud about. I've won franchise titles with various teams around the world. That is also something you feel proud about. My captaincy stint with the West Indies was very good - a pretty successful stint. [It's] something that I'm grateful for. It has fostered better interactions with the players. You open your eyes to each and every one in these leagues as soon as they're playing, you look to see what they are doing, and how much they can contribute to West Indies cricket. So it fostered those healthy conversations. Whenever people would see you as captain, they would ask how far they are from playing for the West Indies, and what they need to do,” he added.
Powell took over the T20I captaincy from Nicholas Pooran, though he emphasised that international cricket remains his top priority. Over his career, he has been part of ten teams across seven franchise leagues worldwide, gaining vast experience in T20 competitions.
This year, Powell has featured in 51 T20Is, adding to the 73 matches he played in 2024. He approaches his workload strategically, breaking it down competition by competition to manage performance and fitness across both international and franchise commitments.
"After you play international cricket, you pick a few competitions that don't have any international clashes. Fortunately, ILT20 is one, [and] IPL is one. I haven't been to the PSL in a few years because there's always a clash. We have our own local competition, which is the CPL. When there is no international cricket, you see the other leagues that are going on, and if you can go there for a few games, that also works,” said Powell.
"I do it [on] competition-basis. If you go match-by-match, then it is kinda hard, and it takes away from your cricket because each passing game, you have to realise different stuff - like this game you get the opportunity to bat a lot of balls, the next game you get the opportunity to bat five-six balls. So I do it by competition. And at the end of the competition, all I want to ensure is to make meaningful contributions. When I was in a position to win the game, did I win the game? 'Yes, I did [or] no, I did not'. When you get an opportunity to make an impact, did you?,” he added.
Powell believes he can succeed at No. 5, the position he has played most frequently in T20s. In 105 innings at that spot, he has scored 2,069 runs at a strike rate of 146.11. He feels that batting at No. 5 gives him the right balance to build an innings without feeling rushed, allowing him to make a meaningful impact in the middle overs.
"I like batting at No. 5 most. You can develop a level of consistency with the game. That is the difference between batting early in the order and late. At No. 5, I have an opportunity to build an innings. When I bat at No. 7 or those places, you only bat ten balls sometimes - at most. All you have to do then is just try to hit as many sixes as possible. Batting earlier at Nos. 4 or 5, you're given the opportunity to bat more balls, [and] take a little fewer chances. So the volume of runs you score will be a lot greater,” said Powell.
The 32-year-old has been succeeded by Shai Hope as West Indies T20I captain. Powell has been retained by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), and once the International League T20 (ILT20) concludes in early January, his focus will shift to the T20 World Cup, scheduled in India and Sri Lanka from February 7. He also shared insights into his approach for constructing an innings in the shorter format.
"It's dependent on the state of the game. If you bat early, you know how fast you have to bat. One thing never changes: you take the first few balls to get yourself in, to read the conditions, pick up how good the wicket is, [and] what's going on with different types of bowlers. After you get that, you lay out the platform of how you're looking to score them. The flow of the game will tell you how you need to bat, [and] how many boundaries you need,” said Powell.
