Injured Pollard withdraws from Pakistan tour

West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming tour of Pakistan as the hamstring injury he sustained in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has unfortunately not recovered in time.

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel has named the experienced Devon Thomas, as the replacement in the One-Day International (ODI) squad, while all-rounder Rovman Powell is the replacement in the T20 International (T20I) squad.

Pollard will undergo rehabilitation work in Trinidad, under the supervision of CWI’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Israel Dowlat, and will be reassessed in a few weeks ahead of the upcoming home tours against Ireland and England in January 2022.

With Pollard ruled out, Nicholas Pooran will lead the team in the T20Is. He was stand-in captain when West Indies beat Australia 4-1 in the five match CG Insurance T20I Series in St. Lucia earlier this year. Shai Hope will captain the team in the ODIs for the first time. Pooran is Vice-Captain for the ODIs, and Hope the Vice-Captain for the T20Is.

The West Indies are due to play three T20Is and three ODIs at the Karachi National Stadium from December 13 to 22. The start times for the matches are: T20Is at 6pm local time (9am Eastern Caribbean/8am Jamaica) and the ODIs at 1pm local time (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica).

The ODI Series will be West Indies fourth series of 12 in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League in which the top seven teams can secure automatic qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. West Indies currently lie in eighth position out of 13 teams and have the opportunity to move above Pakistan into seventh position. The current ICC ODI Super League table standings can be found here

FULL SQUADS

One-Day Internationals: Shai Hope (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.

T20 Internationals: Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice-Captain), Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.

TOUR SCHEDULE

December 13 – 1st T20I, Karachi

December 14 – 2nd T20I, Karachi

December 16 – 3rd T20I, Karachi

December 18 – 1st ODI, Karachi

December 20 – 2nd ODI, Karachi

December 22 – 3rd ODI, Karachi