WEST INDIES young gun Amir Jangoo is riding a wave of confidence as he prepares for just his second One Day International (ODI) in maroon, this time in foreign conditions against Ireland.
The three-match series bowls off on May 21 at Castle Avenue in Dublin is the Caribbean team's first ODI series for 2025.
The left-handed batsman is keeping a level head and focusing on growth ahead of the series. Jangoo, 27, made his ODI debut for the Windies by slamming an unbeaten 104 runs, which led a 3-0 home sweep of Bangladesh in December 2024.
Now lined up to feature in his second international 50-over contest, Jangoo is raring to go.
'Preparation has been good,' Jangoo said after the team's first training session in Ireland on May 15. 'Our first outing today. Got a good hit and looking forward to the series.'
This marks Jangoo's first international tour, and while the occasion could overwhelm many newcomers, the wicketkeeper/batsman is embracing the challenge as a learning experience.
'It's all about improving on my weaknesses. (I'm) not perfect but working on certain things in my batting right now-rotating the strike and boundary hitting. Just working on those things in training and hopefully it could pay off in the game,' he added.
Jangoo's eye-catching start to his international career saw him also land a first-time spot on the West Indies Test team for a two-match away series to Pakistan in January.
On his first official international tour, he described it as 'pretty exciting.'
'I'm still living the dream right now playing for West Indies. It's something I cherish a lot. There's a lot of work to do-it's the beginning of my international career. Just looking forward to the series. We're overseas, the weather is pretty good with the sun out, and I'm enjoying every moment of it.'
West Indies come into the Ireland series in solid form, having closed off their 2024 ODI campaign with a 2-1 home series win over England in October/November, followed by the 3-0 home series sweep of Bangladesh in December.
However, the two away ODI series West Indies played in 2025 saw them lose to Australia 3-0 in February and go down 2-1 to Sri Lanka in October.
Jangoo believes the key to producing a positive result abroad lies in rekindling team chemistry and executing their skills under pressure.
'We're playing amazing right now as you can see from our form in the past series gone by. We have to push on. (We) haven't been together as a group for a while so it's about getting back that togetherness and playing on the field, executing our skills-once we do that, we'll be in good stead.'
The ODI series bowls off on May 21, 23 and 25. A three-match T20I series gets under way from June 12, 14 and 15.
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