Highlights
- Both Russell and Narine are absolute superstars of the game.
- Haynes said that they just did not go with Russell as he wasn't performing well.
- As far as Narine is concerned, Haynes was clear that he seemed disinterested.
West Indies recently announced its squad for the T20 World Cup down-under, and among the ones to miss out were two big names - Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.
Both Russell and Narine are absolute superstars of the game, and their exclusion from the squad raised some questions. Now, in a report by CricBuzz, Desmond Haynes, Chief Selector of the West Indies, has a valid explanation for the same.
Haynes said that they just did not go with Russell as he wasn't performing well and decided to move on from him and look for someone who is doing well in the format.
"We had a meeting with Andre Russell earlier in the year. We're still not convinced yet, he's not performing as well as we would like to see him in the competition (CPL). I think in the situation with Andre Russell, we've just decided to move on, and look for someone who's in form, and doing well in the T20 format."
As far as Narine is concerned, Haynes was clear that he seemed disinterested in playing for the West Indies.
"I did not get any notice from Narine regarding his availability to play. There were conversations that the captain (Nicholas Pooran) was having with Narine, and from all reports, it seemed that he was not interested."
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Earlier, Desmond Haynes, CWI’s Lead Selector said, “We have selected a mixture of youth and experience to represent the West Indies. In the selection process, we have been cognizant of the ongoing CPL and we have been looking at the players who have been playing very well. I said at the beginning of my tenure that I would be interested in giving players the opportunity and I think I have been consistent in doing that. I believe it is a very good team we have selected, and it is a team that will compete, given that we have to qualify from Round 1 into the Super12s.”
“ There are players who did not make the team and I hope they will continue to work hard and perform to their best in the CPL and the upcoming CG United Super50 Cup; because you never know what can happen in case of injuries or any other unforeseen situations where we might need to call up players as replacements,” he added.
Following is the full squad:
Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Rovman Powell (Vice Captain), Yannic Cariah, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Raymon Reifer, Odean Smith
