By Brandon Corlette
Veteran cricket commentator Joseph “Reds” Perreira was happy with the West Indies One-Day International (ODI) squad which was selected for the three-match series against India. The series starts today at 09:30h Eastern Caribbean time at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
“The selectors seem to have learnt a lot from the mistakes they might have made in the squad to Zimbabwe. They seem to have come up with their best selection in a long time,” “Reds” said.
Despite expressing satisfaction on the overall squad, “Reds” wanted reason as it relates to Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder being unavailable.
“It is not quite clear why Jason Holder is unavailable, but if he wants to preserve himself, one can understand that.”
“It is difficult to understand that Nicholas Pooran could not have done what Shimron Hetmyer did, in terms of leaving America and come to represent West Indies. It would have been great to have Pooran and Hetmyer in the middle,” “Reds” said.
“Very happy to see the return of Dominic Drakes. He has been overlooked by the selectors for a very long time. His addition gives an option to Shai Hope in terms of bowling options. Happy to see Gudakesh Motie has returned, after his back injury. He is important to West Indies.”
The veteran cricket commentator added: “The investment in Oshane Thomas once more is an important one. There were some plans to get him fitter; he played some cricket in England, and we are told that he has been working on shedding weight. So, we have to wait and see if he can produce that pace which was missing in Zimbabwe to back up Alzarri Joseph.”
Also, “Reds” noted that Joseph could have taken some rest, as he looks jaded.
“Happy to see [Alick] Athanaze. He is one who can get the scoreboard ticking, Yannic Cariah, more of a T20 bowlers than ODI, he does not bowl enough googly. It will be interesting to see how the three spinners play. It will be important to see how the West Indies compete against India,” “Reds” posited.
He was surprised that Kevlon Anderson was not on the list of standby players since he had done well in the Headley-Weekes tri-series. Hetmyer is expected to return for the first time since July 2021.
He has five ODI hundreds, including two against India, and has a 35-plus average and a 100-plus strike rate after 47 games. There are not too many cricketing reasons for Hetmyer not having played a ODI game for West Indies since July 2021; he’ll hope this fresh start will rejuvenate his career in maroon colours.
West Indies Full Squad: Shai Hope (Captain); Rovman Powell (Vice Captain); Alick Athanaze; Yannic Cariah; Keacy Carty; Dominic Drakes; Shimron Hetmyer; Alzarri Joseph; Brandon King; Kyle Mayers; Gudakesh Motie; Jayden Seales; Romario Shepherd; Kevin Sinclair and Oshane Thomas.
Additional players at White Ball Preparation Camp: Dennis Bulli, Roston Chase, McKenny Clarke, Kavem Hodge, Jair McCallister, Obed McCoy, and Kevin Wickham.
NOTES: Keemo Paul is injured and unavailable; Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder are both unavailable for selection.