West Indies announce squad for Test series against India. The two nations will play a two-match Test series which will be part of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship.
West Indies on Saturday announced their 13-member squad for the two-match Test series against India. The board has included uncapped Rahkeem Cornwall, the 26-year-old off-spinning all-rounder, as part of the squad while veteran Chris Gayle has been left out.
Cornwall has been impressive through his performances for Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the West Indies Championship and West Indies ‘A’. He has bagged 260 wickets at 23.90 in 55 first-class games, while also averaging around 24 with the bat that includes one century and 13 half-centuries.
“Rahkeem has been performing consistently over a long period of time and has proven to be a match-winner, so we believe his elevation to the Test squad is merited at this time,” said Robert Haynes, the head of the interim selection panel of Cricket West Indies.
“We believe he can provide an attacking option to our bowling attack with his sharp turn and extra bounce. He can also lend a bit of depth to the batting, so we are looking forward to him coming into the squad and making a valuable contribution.”
However, Gayle has been left out of the 13-man squad. The veteran cricketer had hinted earlier during ICC World Cup 2019 that he wanted to play one last Test match before hanging his boots from the longest format of the game.
Barring injured Alzarri Joseph and slow left-arm bowler Jomel Warrican, the rest of the squad is the same which had managed to script a 2-1 series win against England earlier this year. Keemo Paul, who had replaced skipper Jason Holder in the third Test against England, also retains his spot.
“Alzarri is undergoing remedial work and we are monitoring his recovery, but we do not think he is ready yet to last five days of a gruelling Test match,” Haynes said on Joseph. “He represents a key part of West Indies future and we do not want to rush him back. We have two important series coming up later in the year in India and we want to be very careful how his recovery is managed.”
The two Tests will be part of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship. The series will begin from August 22 onwards at the Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound. The second Test will begin on August 30 at the Sabina Park in Kingston.
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