(Cricket West Indies) ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies selection panel today named the two squads to face India in the One-Day Internationals and T20 Internationals next month. The selectors have kept faith with the players who recently played against Afghanistan in Lucknow, India. West Indies, the reigning ICC World T20 champions, will face India in three T20Is at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on December 6; in Thiruvananthapuram on December 8 and at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on December 11. Following that series the two teams will meet in three ODIs in Chennai (December 15), in Vizag (December 18) and in Cuttack (December 22).
Speaking on the squad selection, Head 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. Our players really got the hang of things, with the 3-0 series win in the ODIs (against Afghanistan), and I believe we will move from strength to strength.”
Simmons added: “In the T20s this will be another chance for them to play and develop, and again, with no disrespect to Afghanistan, this should be a stronger T20 country and we will look to see how they perform against India. The next ICC T20 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. 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.”
FULL SQUADS
T20 Internationals
Kieron Pollard (captain)
Fabian Allen
Sheldon Cottrell
Shimron Hetmyer
Jason Holder
Brandon King
Evin Lewis
Keemo Paul
Nicholas Pooran
Khary Pierre
Denesh Ramdin
Sherfane Rutherford
Lendl Simmons
Hayden Walsh jr.
Kesrick Williams
One-Day Internationals
Kieron Pollard (captain)
Shai Hope
Sunil Ambris
Roston Chase
Sheldon Cottrell
Shimron Hetmyer
Jason Holder
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Evin Lewis
Keemo Paul
Khary Pierre
Nicholas Pooran
Romario Shepherd
Hayden Walsh jr.
MATCH SCHEDULE
December 6: 1st T20I – Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad
December 8: 2nd T20I – Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
December 11: 3rd T20I – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
December 15: 1st ODI – M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
December 18: 2nd ODI – Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam
December 22: 3rd ODI – Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
