West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite believes his new opening partner Tagenarine Chanderpaul is well on the way to becoming a world class player, following an impressive debut last month.

The 26-year-old Chanderpaul, the son of legendary West Indies player Shivnarine Chanderpaul, earned plenty of plaudits after beginning his senior career against top Test team Australia last month. 

On debut against the Aussies, Chanderpaul scored 160 runs, which was the second most behind the in-form Brathwaite, and had a top score of 51.  In addition to his scoring, however, the player's relative comfort against top-class bowling on a good pitch was also of note.

“I think he’s world class, when you even look at a thing like the ‘leave alone’ that he has,” Brathwaite told member of the media, ahead of the team's tour of Southern Africa.

“...I think he will be a world class Test batsman, obviously he has the patience and you can see he has still the shots also. On some good Australian pitches his strike rate was higher than normal, so I really think he has a bright future,” he added.

“He is a very focussed player and very determined, so for sure he will make many West Indian’s proud.”

Brathwaite and Chanderpaul will look to lead from the front, as the team looks to bounce back from a poor showing in Australia last month.