While the West Indies senior team engaged in a home series against Bangladesh, the next generation of batting talent have been undergoing a transformative two-week training program in Chennai, India. Organized at the Super Kings Academy, the camp featured promising players such as Jewel Andrew, Kirk McKenzie, Ackeem Auguste, Jordan Johnson, Matthew Nandu, Kevin Wickham, and Teddy Bishop. The program is being overseen by West Indies Academy head coach Ramesh Subasinghe, Under-19 coach Rohan Nurse, and Super Kings Academy’s Sriram Krishnamurthy.

 This initiative, inspired by the success of similar programs involving New Zealand cricketers Rachin Ravindra and Ben Sears, was designed to expose West Indies’ emerging talent to subcontinental conditions. Players practised on both red and black-soil pitches and faced a variety of spinners, including ambidextrous wrist-spinner Jhathavedh Subramanyan, who added a competitive edge to the matches.

 Ackeem Auguste, fresh off a CPL title win with the St. Lucia Kings, praised the camp for enhancing his adaptability. “It's been good so far in Chennai, trying to adapt to new surfaces and incorporate into my game,” Auguste told ESPN Cricinfo. “For both black and red clay, you need to come up with a game plan and try to stick to it as much as possible. Naturally, I sweep, so it comes naturally to me here too.”

 Auguste scored two impressive fifties during the camp’s two-day match but expressed disappointment at not converting them into centuries. “I should have probably tried to convert one, but if I was told I would have gotten these scores, then I would take it.”

 Kirk McKenzie, who made his Test debut against India in 2023, viewed the camp as an opportunity to refine his technique. “I’m here for the first time in India, so I’m trying to broaden my game and get used to the different surfaces here,” McKenzie explained. “The ball turns more in the subcontinent and there’s also uneven bounce. Probably in the future, if I have a Test tour here, this will be beneficial.”

 Ramesh Subasinghe highlighted the broader objectives of the camp, emphasizing the need for innovative solutions given the lack of robust player-development programs in the Caribbean. “For a smaller, financially constrained association, we need to be creative,” Subasinghe said. “We’ve also brought in the Under-19 coach (Nurse) who can share the information with other young players in the Caribbean. This camp is about identifying targeted players and exposing them to different learning environments.”

 With limited opportunities for ‘A’ team tournaments, this initiative represents a vital step in bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket for West Indies’ emerging players. By equipping them with the skills to tackle challenging conditions, the Chennai camp aims to nurture a generation of cricketers ready to succeed on the global stage.