St. John’s, July 8 (Hindustan Times). The senior men’s selection committee of Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced a 13-member squad for the first match of the two-match Test series against India. The first Test between the two teams will be played from July 12 to 16 at Windsor Park in Dominica.
Left-handed batsmen Kirk McKenzie and Alyque Athanage have been included in the squad for the first time. Apart from these, all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall, who played his last Test in November 2021, and left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican have been called back.
Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Moti is not available for selection as he is undergoing rehabilitation from injury.
Chief Selector, Dr Desmond Haynes said, “We were very impressed with the batting approach of McKenzie and Athanage on the recent “A” team tour of Bangladesh. These are two young players who got good scores and played with a lot of maturity, and we believe they deserve an opportunity.”
He further added, “We are without Moti, who is rehabilitating himself, and that has created an opportunity for Warrican and Cornwall in the spin bowling department. They both have played at Test match level before and are capable of doing the job.
“We had Jaden Seales here at camp and he is making good progress rehabbing from surgery,” Haynes said. However, we felt that he was not yet ready to return, and we did not want to risk him at this stage. Kyle Mayers was also considered but he has some flaws and the precaution is that he should not be subjected to the rigors of the five-day game at this stage.
The West Indies team will travel to Dominica on Sunday after an ongoing pre-series camp at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. They will have training sessions on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning to prepare for the match.
The West Indies team for the first Test is as follows: –
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood (vc), Alick Athanaj, Tegnarayan Chanderpaul, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kirk McKenzie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican.
Reserve players: Tevin Imlach, Akeem Jordan.
