West Indies on Tuesday (May 18) announced a provisional 18-man squad for the back-to-back five-match T20I home series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan.
The squad included star players such as Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, and Shimron Hetmyer. While Gayle was part of the series against Sri Lanka in March this year, Russell and Hetmyer last played for the West Indies in 2020.
The large squad has a mix of experienced and exciting young players as the West Indies continue preparations in the build-up to the defence of their T20 World Cup title, slated to be played in October-November.
Apart from Russell and Hetmyer, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr. also returned to the side alongside the majority of the squad who featured in the 2-1 T20I series victory over Sri Lanka two months ago. Kieron Pollard will continue to lead the side.
“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,” Cricket West Indies said in a statement.
Explaining the thinking behind naming this squad, CWI's lead selector Roger Harper said: "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."
West Indies are the defending champions in the shortest format of the game and also lifted the T20 World Cup title in 2012.
"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 support staff will undergo rigorous COVID-19 testing prior to and during each of these engagements," it said in a statement.
West Indies T20I Squad:
Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obec McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.
