West Indies announce ODI squad for tour of India
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel today announced the Senior Men’s squad for the upcoming three-match One-Day International (ODI) Series against India. The West Indies will visit the sub-continent from February 6 to 20, where they will also play three T20 Internationals (T20Is).
The ODIs will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 6, 9 and 11. These matches form part of the ICC ODI Super League and the West Indies will have the opportunity to win points to be one of the top seven teams, excluding hosts India, to gain automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
The T20Is will be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 16, 18 and 20, with the squad expected to be announced on Friday.
Kemar Roach, the experienced fast bowler; Nkrumah Bonner, the middle-order batsman, and Brandon King, the opening batman, have been recalled to the squad. Roach has so far played 92 ODIs with 124 wickets. Bonner made his ODI debut in Bangladesh a year ago and has so far played three matches, while King has so far played four matches in this format.
Lead Selector, the Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes, said: “Kemar Roach is one of our leading fast bowlers and we believe we need bowlers upfront to get early wicket, and Kemar, with an economy rate of five, is certainly good enough to play. Over the last few years, Nkrumah Bonner’s cricket has come on leaps and bounds and we believe he should be given an opportunity to play in the 50-over format.”
Haynes added: “We want to have competition for places. We want to reach a stage where we have a lot of players fighting for positions. We want to broaden the pool of players we have to choose from. The team we have selected is a very good side and we are looking at this tour as part of the preparations for the World Cup in India in 2023.”
FULL SQUAD
Kieron Pollard (Captain)
Fabian Allen
Nkrumah Bonner
Darren Bravo
Shamarh Brooks
Jason Holder
Shai Hope
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Nicholas Pooran
Kemar Roach
Romario Shepherd
Odean Smith
Hayden Walsh Jr.
ODI Match Schedule
February 6: 1st ODI at Ahmedabad
February 9: 2nd ODI at Ahmedabad
February 11: 3rd ODI at Ahmedabad
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