WI vs IND: West Indies announce 13-man Test squad for India series

West Indies will take on India for a two-match Test series to kick off their participation in the World Test Championship. The Caribbean side has announced the 13-man Test squad. Rahkeem Cornwall and Shamarh Brooks have been rewarded for their consistency in the first-class cricket while injured Alzarri Joseph shall be missing.

The long wait ends for Cornwall

Cornwall, the 26-year old hard-hitting off-spinner, made his first-class debut in 2014 for Leewards Islands and has even captained the side earlier this year. As of now, he has 260 wickets from 55 first-class matches to go along with 2,000-plus runs with an average hovering around 25.

Robert Haynes, the head of CWI’s interim selection panel, said, “Rahkeem has been performing consistently over a long period of time and has proven to be a match-winner, so we believe his elevation to the Test squad is merited at this time.”

“We believe he can provide an attacking option to our bowling attack with his sharp turn and extra bounce. He can also lend a bit of depth to the batting, so we are looking forward to him coming into the squad and making a valuable contribution.”

Capable of batting in the lower-middle order, Cornwall scored two half-centuries and picked up four wickets against India A in the recently completed tour. The giant batsman smashed six sixes in the course of his innings. Shamarh Brooks, 30-year old right-hand batsman has earned a call-up after his two half-centuries against India A.

Also read: WI vs IND – How have current Indian Test bowlers fared in Caribbean

The misses

A miss from the 13-man squad is Alzarri Joseph who had arrived in the IPL in style this year. The fast bowler is still recuperating from his injury.

Haynes added, “Alzarri is undergoing remedial work and we are monitoring his recovery. But we do not think he is ready yet to last five days of a gruelling Test match. He represents a key part of West Indies future and we do not want to rush him back. We have two important series coming up later in the year in India and we want to be very careful how his recovery is managed.”

Jomel Warrican, the left-arm spinner, is the only other player missing out from the squad that defeated England in the last home Test series. Chris Gayle had also expressed his desire to play one more Test match before retiring but he has not been selected in this squad. The first Test begins at Antigua on 22nd August.

BREAKING: West Indies release squad for Test v India in Antigua & Jamaica! #WIRally #MenInMaroon #ItsOurGame

Squad details below!
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— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) August 9, 2019