Holder replaces injured McCoy in West Indies World Cup squad

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel on Wednesday afternoon announced that all-rounder Jason Holder has been named as the replacement for left-arm fast bowler Obed McCoy in the 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

McCoy was ruled out of the ICC tournament due to a right shin injury. He played the opening match against England last Saturday but missed the second match against South Africa on Tuesday.

The change to the West Indies squad has been approved by the ICC Tournament’s Technical Committee. Holder, who was originally named as a traveling reserve, now joins the official squad and is available for selection for the third Super 12 match against Bangladesh at the Sharjah Stadium on Friday.

First ball is 2pm (6am Eastern Caribbean/5am Jamaica) and will be shown live on ESPN Caribbean.

Roger Harper, CWI’s Lead Men’s Selector said: “Jason Holder has been in the UAE for a while now and will fit quite well into the team unit. He is an experienced and knowledgeable cricketer who we know will be eager and excited to grab the opportunity.”

Harper said: “McCoy did really well in the T20Is earlier this year and adapted well in the opening match against England. He was a key member of the bowling unit and it’s unfortunate he won’t be able to take any further part in the tournament. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the field ready to go again in the near future.”

FULL SQUAD: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.

Traveling Reserves: Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell and Gudakesh Motie.