Apart from disappointment among some local cricket officials about the omission of experienced West Indies batsmen Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan from the one-day team, there is dismay that a cogent justification was not given by WICB selectors.
The three most senior West Indies players were axed for the first two ODI matches of the five-game series against Pakistan that begins on April 21.
A release from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) stated, “Consistent with the policy to expose young players, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan were not selected.”
“The time has come for us to introduce a fresh crop of players who we believe has a deep desire to excel and who can be tested at the international level,” Chairman of Selectors Clyde Butts had said.
“We have already seen players like Kemar Roach, Darren Bravo, Andre Russell, and Devendra Bishoo performing impressively on the international stage, and we believe that players like Kirk Edwards and Anthony Martin can step up similarly,” he added.
However, this explanation did not sit well with former president of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) and Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) Bishwa Panday. The official indicated yesterday, after learning of the players’ omission, that he does not think there can be any argument for the exclusion.
“I don’t think there can be any argument for their exclusion; they are very good players and I don’t think you can just drop them without some sort of an explanation and I am very disappointed. They are not old players by any standards, Sarwan especially,” Panday contended.
Panday believes that the selection panel, headed by Guyanese Butts, needs to give a clearer explanation as to its decision.
“Tell us, the sporting public, why these cricketers were excluded, what is the rationale for their exclusion”, Panday demanded.
“They (selectors) cannot hide behind the veil of preparing for the next World Cup. How old will Sarwan [and Gayle] be at the next World Cup and what happens between now and the next World Cup? We have several engagements and the process of building toward the next World Cup is gradual.
“There just can’t be a knee-jerk reaction. To say that we are preparing for the next World Cup to me is a cop out by the selectors to hide whatever shortcomings on their part,” Panday concluded.
Meanwhile, former president of the GCA Alfred Mentore believes that the situation is a tricky one and in terms of Chanderpaul, 36, who has scored 8,778 runs from 268 matches and has an average of 41.60, he stated that perhaps the WICB has seen an opportunity to preserve the Test career of the 36-year-old.
Mentore, who believes that the WICB knows what is best for cricket in the region, said that it seems that there is a case of musical chairs being played with Sarwan, who has an average of 43.20 from 166 matches. Mentore believes that Sarwan should have been considered for selection, especially in light of the runs he made prior to the World Cup, adding that this sort of treatment can hamper the confidence of any player.
Efforts to reach Sarwan and Chanderpaul for a comment were futile while other cricket officials stated that they will not be making any pronouncement on the issue.
Squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice captain), Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Anthony Martin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith and Devon Thomas.
