T20 World Cup: Ambrose bullish on West Indies’ chances

West Indies great and ICC Hall of Famer Curtly Ambrose believes his former team have enough talent to win an unprecedented third ICC Men's T20 World Cup title next month.

While the West Indies are just one of the two sides to have won multiple men's T20 World Cup titles, the Caribbean team will need to overturn some poor form at recent ICC tournaments, if they are to become the only three-time winner of the event.

The West Indies didn't make it out of the first round of the most recent T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 and failed to even qualify for last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India.

But Ambrose thinks the West Indies' fortunes are turning under skipper Rovman Powell and pointed to T20I series successes over powerhouses South Africa, India, and England in the last 14 months as evidence of this.

These returns have the legendary fast bowler confident of a strong showing from the West Indies in the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup, an event they will co-host with the USA.

"We have a very, very good team," Ambrose claimed when speaking at the launch of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York earlier this week.

"As we speak they (West Indies players) are in Antigua at a camp preparing themselves for the start of the T20 World Cup which is a couple of weeks away.

"I believe once the guys start playing consistent cricket and smart cricket, I believe we can take the trophy.

"It is not going to be easy, but we are one of only two nations to have won it twice so we are going to try and make it three.

"And no other nation has ever won it on home soil, so all that is motivation for the guys to do well and I am hoping they can do it."

Carlos Brathwaite narrates the story of the last-minute change in the 2016 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Final that led to one of the greatest moments in the tournament's history.

The West Indies are drawn in Group C at the T20 World Cup and face the champions of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier Papua New Guinea first up in Guyana on June 2, before their remaining opening round fixtures against Uganda, New Zealand and Afghanistan.

Ambrose expects to see some upsets at this year's edition of the T20 World Cup as he knows every side has plenty of talented players at their disposal.

"I admire a lot of cricketers (at the T20 World Cup) and I am looking forward to them doing well," he said.

"As a proud Antiguan and being from the West Indies, I want the West Indies to win.

"It is not going to be easy because in T20 cricket every team has an equal chance of beating any other team and that is just the nature of T20 cricket.

"It is going to be exciting, but I am going to be rooting for the West Indies."