St John’s [Antigua], February 27 (ANI): Star batsman Chris Gayle will return to play for West Indies for the first time in two years while pacer Fidel Edwards has been included in the squad after nine years.
Edwards, who last played an international game in 2012, and Gayle were named in the West Indies squad for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Off-spinner Kevin Sinclair earned his first West Indies selection and left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein gets his first T20I call-up after being named in the squad.
“As we build towards the defence of the T20 World Cup, the opportunity is being taken to determine our best team and squad as we go forward,” Cricket West Indies (CWI) lead selector Roger Harper said in an official statement.
“Chris Gayle has performed very well in recent tournaments and the selection panel thinks that he can still add great value to our team. Fidel Edwards has been selected to give the bowling the potent firepower needed,” he added.
West Indies also named the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series and Test skipper Jason Holder has been included in both white-ball segments. The three T20I matches will be played on March 3, 5 and 7 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua, while the ODI series will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, Antigua on March 10, 12, and 14.
“Jason Holder has shown his all-round value in this format in recent times and after missing a few series he will add depth and experience to the squad. Akeal Hosein performed very well in Bangladesh [ODI Series] and had excellent stats in the CPL so this is an opportunity to see how he equips himself in this format,” said Harper.
“Kevin Sinclair grabbed our attention in the Super50 Cup back in 2019 and has been consistently economical in the last CPL and the current CG Insurance Super50. He will provide an off-spinning option for the team,” he added.
All-rounder Andre Russell is still recovering from contracting COVID-19 earlier this month, and despite testing negative over a week ago was ruled out of the T20Is by the CWI Medical Panel whilst he completes his “return to play” protocols.
Fast bowlers Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas, along with batsman Shimron Hetmyer, and all-rounder Roston Chase all failed to reach the minimum fitness standard in time for selection consideration. They will all remain in Antigua after the CGI Insurance Super50 Cup to work on their fitness and conditioning. (ANI)
