ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Off-spinner Kevin Sinclair has been named to replace leg-spinner Yannic Cariah, who has been ruled out of West Indies’ World Cup qualifying campaign with injury.
The 23-year-old Sinclair, who has played four One-Day Internationals since making his debut last year, is set to arrive in Zimbabwe on Thursday ahead of the Caribbean side’s first Super Six game against Scotland.
Sinclair was part of the West Indies A tour of Bangladesh recently and was subsequently called up for the ODI tour of United Arab Emirates earlier this month, where he featured in the finale of the three-match series.
The 31-year-old Cariah suffered a nose fracture when he struck in the face during a training session ahead of the opening game of the qualifiers.
He subsequently underwent surgery but according to a media release from Cricket West Indies on Wednesday, the player has “unfortunately not recovered sufficiently to resume playing at this stage.”
Cariah, 31, has taken nine wickets from eight ODIs. West Indies’ World Cup qualification hopes are hanging by a thread following successive defeats to Zimbabwe and the Netherlands.
They face the challenge of having to win all three Super Six matches to stand any chance of reaching the showpiece in India later this year.