Keemo Paul

Keemo Paul player profile

It was a contentious sequence of events that first made Keemo Paul a household name (at least around the cricket world).

West Indies vs Zimbabwe. Under-19 World Cup 2016. With three runs needed of the last over and the last Zimbabwe wicket left, Paul ran in, didn't get into his delivery stride, and broke the stumps at the bowler's end with Richard Ngarava's bat on the line. Out. "West Indies Mankad Zimbabwe", the ESPNcricinfo headline said. Things have changed a lot since then, but even three years later, Paul would tell us, "I got a lot of backlash for it - I would probably not do it [again]."

He hasn't, but has gone on to play a fair bit of international and franchise cricket over the years. He debuted as a bowling allrounder for West Indies in all three formats in 2018. The base had been created at the U-19 World Cup in 2016, where he was the best all-round performer in West Indies' title run: seven wickets at an average of 21.42 and 166 runs at an average of 41.50. But he hasn't quite been able to establish himself consistently at the highest level, which is why his international appearances have stalled at 56. He remains in demand in the franchise T20 circuit, though, and isn't quite out of the frame for the national team either, and is a part of the West Indies A set-up in the limited-overs formats.