Paul Farbrace believes Will Rhodes is ready to be a big contributor to the Bears' 2022 Blast campaign under the leadership of new captain Carlos Brathwaite.
West Indies star Brathwaite will skipper the Bears in the T20 next summer with Rhodes leading the side in the championship and Royal London Cup.
During his first stint at Edgbaston last summer, Brathwaite had a big impact on and off the field. His qualities as an all-rounder, allied to his commitment to making every player around him the best he can be, convinced director of cricket Farbrace and first team coach Mark Robinson to hand him the captaincy for the 2022 Blast.
He has the credentials to justify leadership, while the switch will also take some pressure off Rhodes as the season moves into his most hectic period.
“It is no slight at all on Will that we have moved to Carlos as T20 captain,” said Farbrace. “What is does show is that every decision that we make is for the good of the club.
“Carlos has experienced pretty much every major tournament around the world. We think this move will accelerate our learning and improvement with Carlos whose focus will be totally on T20 cricket. He won’t be thinking about the championship programme or the 50-over competition coming up – that’s Rhodesy’s job. The first block of championship games will come thick and fast and, after being captain for them, Will can focus on being the best T20 player he can be.
“At times last season he showed he can be a brilliant T20 player – his innings at Leicester was outstanding. You could argue he didn’t bowl himself enough at times but perhaps that’s because, as captain, you get caught up in the hurly-burly of T20. I think he has a lot more to offer with both bat and ball in T20.”
Paul Farbrace
One of the youngest men ever to captain Warwickshire, Rhodes rose admirably to the challenges of an exceptionally busy gig. The on and off field obligations of skippering in all formats are immense.
“Will has had a year and a half as captain and done brilliantly,” said Farbrace. “Now he will have a senior guy in T20 who he can bounce ideas off, as well as other good players in the squad whose knowledge he can also tap into.”
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