ST JOHN’S (Antigua): Experienced all-rounders Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo were left out in West Indies’ ODI and T20 squads for the upcoming series against India, beginning next month.
Senior player Kieron Pollard will continue to lead both the ODI and T20 squads with Nicholas Pooran as his deputy in the shorter format and Shai Hope taking over the role of the vice-captain in the ODIs.
Russell, who played six games at the recently-concluded Abu Dhabi T10 league, didn’t find a place despite being fit, while Bravo, who had earlier hinted of an international comeback, was also not considered.
Star opener Chris Gayle was in contention but he decided to take “a break”, making him unavailable.
The West Indies team had won the ODI series but lost the T20Is against Afghanistan and the selectors decided to keep faith with the players who played in Lucknow.
Left-arm spin all-rounder Fabian Allen made it to the squad after recovering from a knee injury that had forced him out of the series against Afghanistan midway earlier this month.
Denesh Ramdin, who also missed parts of that series with hamstring injury, also found a place in the squad after regaining his fitness.
West Indies, the reigning ICC World T20 champions, will begin their tour with the three-match T20I series, starting with the opening match in Hyderabad on December 6.
It will be followed by the second T20I in Thiruvananthapuram on December 8 while the third match will be held in Mumbai on December 11.
The two teams will then meet in three ODIs in Chennai (December 15), Visakhaptnam (December 18) and Cuttack (December 22).
Coach Phil Simmons said: “We have three matches in each format, so we wanted to give each squad a chance to compete against India.
“No disrespect to Afghanistan, but facing India will be a more difficult series, especially in the ODI. Our players really the hang of thing with the 3-0 series win and I believe we will move from strength to strength.”
Talking about the T20 squad, Simmons said: “In the T20s this will be another chance for them to play and development, and again no disrespect to Afghanistan, this should be a stronger T20 country and we will look to see how they perform against India.
“The next World Cup is in Australia (2020) and the one after that is here in India (2021) so there is a lot of preparation to be done for first for Australia, so we have given the players here a chance in this series and we know we have players outside who may be coming in later on as well, so it’s good to give those here another opportunity.”
The Squads:
West Indies ODI Squad: Kieron Pollard (C), Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope, Khary Pierre, Rostan Chase, Alzarri Joseph, Sheldon Cottrell, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Hayden Walsh Jr.
West Indies T20 squad: Kieron Pollard (C), Fabian Allen, Brandon King, Denesh Ramdin, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Sherfane Rutherford, Shimron Hetmyer, Khary Pierre, Lendl Simmons, Jason Holder, Hayden Walsh Jr, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Kesrick Williams. (AGENCIES)
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