Hetmyer, Sinclair in West Indies provisional T20I squad

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel has announced a provisional 18-man squad ahead of the three back-to-back, five-match T20 International Series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan.

Guyanese Shimron Hetmyer, who was not selected for the Red-ball training squad, has returned to the mix, while fellow countryman Kevin Sinclair retains his place after making a debut during the recent Sri Lanka T20I Series.

According to CWI, the expanded squad maintains the blend of experienced players with exciting young talent as the West Indies continue preparations in the build-up to the defence of their ICC T20 World Cup title, to be held in India in October-November 2021.

Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr. also return alongside the majority of the squad who featured in the 2-1 T20I Series victory against Sri Lanka in March.

The high-profile absentee is spinner Sunil Narine.

According to a reliable source: “Narine informed Lead Selector, Roger Harper last year that he was not ready for International cricket. If his position changes then the selectors would consider him for selection.”

The provisional squad will quarantine and train in St. Lucia ahead of the first T20I Series against South Africa starting on June 26 at the Grenada National Cricket Stadium. The official squad will subsequently be selected and announced ahead of each Series.

CWI’s Lead Selector, Roger Harper, explained the thinking behind naming this squad: “The Provisional T20I Squad was put together with all T20I Home Series Matches against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in mind. This gives us the opportunity to continue to build towards the upcoming World Cup and to determine our best squad and our ideal eleven.”

The West Indies Head Coach, Phil Simmons, is confident going into the summer and looking forward to the World Cup and he commented: “These upcoming T20Is are crucial in terms of our preparation for the ICC T20 World Cup. We have assembled a very solid squad — with experienced world-class match-winners and some exciting young talented players, ready to explode onto the global stage and do great things for West Indies cricket.”

He added, “We are at that point where we have identified those who we will look to be the core of the squad to defend our World Cup title, so we want to make sure the upcoming matches create that environment — the way we train, the way we plan, the way we execute and the chemistry within the group. We won five years ago, so the next few weeks and months will be major steppingstones on the road towards defending our title and being World Champions for a third time.”

The Men in Maroon are the defending ICC IT20 World Champions and also lifted the title in 2012.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has been working closely with regional Governments, their Ministries of Health, and CARPHA to ensure the training camps and matches can proceed within a bio-secure environment. All players and the support staff will undergo rigorous COVID-19 testing prior to and during each of these engagements. (A modified CWI press release)

T20I MATCH SCHEDULE:

West Indies vs South Africa

June 26: 1st T20I, Grenada National Cricket Stadium

June 27: 2nd T20I, Grenada National Cricket Stadium

June 29: 3rd T20I, Grenada National Cricket Stadium

July 1: 4th T20I, Grenada National Cricket Stadium

July 3: 5th T20I, Grenada National Cricket Stadium

West Indies vs Australia

July 9: 1st T20I, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

July 10: 2nd T20I, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

July 12: 3rd T20I, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

July 14: 4th T20I, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

July 16: 5th T20I, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St. Lucia

West Indies vs Pakistan

July 27: 1st T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados

July 28: 2nd T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados

July 31: 3rd T20I, Guyana National Stadium

August 1: 4th T20I, Guyana National Stadium

August 3: 5th T20I, Guyana National Stadium