Ravi Rampaul was an enduring, if sporadic, presence in and around the West Indies team for the first two decades of the 21st century. Tall, strong and well-built, he moved the ball both ways at brisk pace, and could bowl long spells.

For a long time, it seemed Rampaul might never fulfil his potential at international level. He did little of note in his first six years in international cricket, partly due to injury: he was picked for the tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa in 2003-04, and played against England home and away later that year, but then was sidelined with injury for more than a year.

He played intermittently thereafter, but when belatedly given an opportunity towards the end of the 2011 World Cup, he made his mark with a five-for against India in Chennai, and then sustained his form in the home season, taking 11 wickets in the two-Test series against Pakistan, which was almost three times as many as he took in his first five Tests. Towards the end of that year, he smashed an unbeaten 86 runs against India from No. 10 in an ODI.

Rampaul was one of the key members of West Indies' 2012 World T20-winning side, but after the middle of the decade, injuries prevented him from making regular appearances for West Indies in all formats. All the more surprising then that he made an international return in 2021, playing his first games for West Indies in six years, in the T20 World Cup in the UAE.