Lead Selector of the West Indies Cricket selection panel, Roger Harper, yesterday identified Chris Gayle’s experience as one of the criteria that earned him a spot in the T20 World Cup squad while Romario Shepherd missed out.
Harper was addressing questions from the media via Zoom conference and admitted that a medical exemption results in his non-obligation to meet the fitness standard of some of the younger players.
However, he noted, “The selection panel, having taking everything into consideration thinks Chris Gayle brings value to the team and thus he has been included in the squad… His experience, we know what he is capable of, he has had a lot of experience over the years, he has performed at the highest level and I feel the squad feels with him in it they are a better squad that offers a threat to opponents.”
Gayle who turns 42 later this month, averages just 17.46 this year after 16 matches with a best of 67 while 10 and nine respectively in the prior two years. In the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the left-hander has scored 83 runs in five innings at an average of 16.6 and an uncharacteristic strike rate of 110.
“I think though that when you look at stats in itself you know that it can’t be looked at in isolation. Of I course present form is important, of course performance is key but I think as well you look at the pedigree of the player, what the player brings to the team,” Harper stated.
The lead selector went on to point out that Romario Shepherd has performed “extremely well and of course consideration was given and he just missed out a spot.”
The 26-year-old fast bowling all-rounder has been the pick of the death bowlers in this season’s CPL with 14 wickets. His countryman, Sherfane Rutherford has also shown exceptional form with three half centuries this CPL but Harper noted that it was failure to meet the fitness standard that excluded him from selection.
“Rutherford finds himself in a different position because as well as he has been performing, he is one of a few players who do not meet our fitness criteria so he is not eligible for selection,” he said.
Harper could not say when Rutherford was tested but stated, “I cannot tell you when he would have been tested but I think the question is when Sherfane would have made himself available to be tested, I can’t answer that question, you have to direct that question to the sports science department.”
Like Rutherford, failing to meet fitness standards, according to Harper has also kept Sunil Narine and Odean Smith out of contention.
Meanwhile, looking at those included, the lead selection indicated that from the batsmen available, Darren Bravo was the best candidate to be included in the reserves while on Akeal Hosein he said, “Akeal had an excellent tournament so far, he performed exceedingly well but when you look at the combination that’s where he got done so he ended up in the reserve,” owing to the balance of the side.
Harper also admitted that it was a tough choice to exclude a player of Jason Holder’s caliber from the original 15. He is in the reserves.
“I think we’ve picked a squad that’s got good strength and depth in each department, a squad with a tremendous amount of experience and also importantly a lot of World Cup winning experience and I think that also within this squad there are a number of players capable of winning games on their own” the lead selector stated.
Harper reckoned that the team is packed with “world-beaters” but has to be moulded into a team that can complement each other and make smart decisions to utilise different players in different situations.
If the squad can achieve this, Harper expressed his confidence in the team retaining their title.
