Birthday special: Odean Smith – A West Indian T20 superstar in making

Odean Smith has succeeded in proving his mettle as an all-rounder for the West Indies in the last one year. While he can play game-changing knocks with his power-hitting abilities in the middle order, Smith also has the potential to provide vital breakthroughs with the ball in hand as a fast-medium bowler.

Apart from making an impact for the Windies with his impressive all-round abilities, Odean has also succeeded in earning lucrative franchise contracts across the globe as he has already featured in the Caribbean Premier League, Lanka Premier League, and, the IPL.

As Odean Smith turns 26 on November 1, here’s all you need to know about the versatile all-rounder.

Odean Smith- The future of West Indies cricket

Odean Smith had his first taste of success when the West Indies won the ICC U19 World Cup in 2016 which also included the likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph, etc. However, Smith had no individual performances to boast of.

2021 is when Odean Smith attained fame and fortune as he had an excellent CPL representing the Guyana Amazon Warriors. While he could only manage 126 runs averaging 18 with the bat, he showcased spectacular performances with the ball in hand to finish as the joint second-highest wicket-taker along with Romario Shepherd registering 18 scalps to his name averaging 14.88 at an economy of 7.54.

Smith was bought by the Punjab Kings for a mammoth INR six crore for IPL 2022. Nonetheless, he could only score 51 runs from six matches and picked up six wickets from as many games.

Odean Smith’s best achievement in this year happened to be smashing five consecutive sixes off Migael Pretorius during a CPL encounter between the Guyana Amazon Warriors and the Jamaica Tallawahs.

Even though the Jamaican cricketer is known for his reputation to hit monstrous sixes and clock over 140kmph at will, he does not have either a half-century or a five-wicket haul in the five One Day Internationals and the 21 T20Is that have been played so far.

However, with age still on his side and a prosperous future in international cricket lying ahead of him, Odean Smith has all the credentials to become the next big thing in Caribbean cricketing history.

At the same time, he would also be eager to leave an ever-lasting impression in global franchise leagues.