(CWI) – Cricket West Indies selection panel yesterday named the two squads to face India in the One-Day International 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).
The panel outlined that Nicholas Pooran will continue as vice-captain of the T20I squad, for continuity and with a view to the future, and he remains the best choice as deputy to captain Kieron Pollard. Shai Hope will also continue as vice-captain of the ODI squad.
Speaking on the squads, 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 [got] the hang of things with the 3-0 series win 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, 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, 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.”
Squads:
West Indies ODI Squad: Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope, Khary Pierre, Rostan Chase, Alzarri Joseph, Kieron Pollard (C), Sheldon Cottrell, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Hayden Walsh Jr.
West Indies T20 squad: Fabian Allen, Brandon King, Denesh Ramdin, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Sherfane Rutherford, Shimron Hetmyer, Khary Pierre, Lendl Simmons, Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard (C), Hayden Walsh Jr, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Kesrick Williams.