President of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) Anil Beharry has expressed disappointment and shock over the fact that national left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul was overlooked as a replacement for Sunil Narine for the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
Following Narine’s withdrawal from the side, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) named Jamaica skipper and left-arm spinner Nikita Miller as Narine’s replacement for the upcoming World Cup.
When asked his thoughts on Miller’s selection instead of Permaul, Beharry, in a telephone interview with Stabroek Sports said: “First of all his omission after Narine pulled out is surprising and it will deter other cricketers instead of motivating them.”
“When you look at the West Indies selection policy, picking Miller over Permaul is doesn’t make sense. Permaul is younger and has been performing well, and if the selectors said that they want to start building a young team then the decision to carry someone who is older than Permaul by eight years needs an explanation.
“The new panel of selectors stated that it is time for rebuilding with the younger players who perform consistently and Permaul’s returns in the ongoing four-day and recently concluded One Day tournaments have been exceptional.
“He has been performing better in recent times, not to discredit Miller, but the selectors need to be consistent with their policies,” said the BCB President.
After destroying Guyana in the finals of the Regional Super50 tournament last Sunday, Narine, who bagged 6-9 in a Man-of-the-match performance, then decided to pull out of the West Indies World Cup squad as he put it to continue remedial work on his bowling action.
Permaul has snatched up 32 wickets from four games in the first leg of the Professional Cricket league (PCL) four-day tournament and is currently the leading wicket-taker in that competition.
In the recent Regional Super50 tournament, the left-arm spinner collected 11 wickets.
Meanwhile, Miller, who has played 40 One Day Internationals (ODI) for the West Indies since his debut in 2008, has collected 17 wickets from the four matches played so far in the PCL four-day tournament while in the ODI’s he has grabbed six wickets from four games.
Beharry said the BCB only wanted former West Indies Captain and current West Indies head Selector Clive Lloyd and his team to be consistent in their selection policy, adding that West Indies cricket is at its lowest and decisions like that will help it to remain so.
