Nicholas Pooran made his comeback to the West Indies’ national squad for the T20I series against India and will continue to be the vice-captain in the shortest format, the board announced on Thursday. The left-handed batsman was banned for four international matches by ICC for ball-tampering during the final ODI of the series against Afghanistan.

He missed the three T20Is that followed the ODI series and will also miss the opening T20I against India on December 6. While Pooran made a comeback, West Indies dropped Alzarri Joseph and Shai Hope from the T20I squad. In the only T20I Hope played, he scored 52 runs. Joseph was a part of the squad but didn’t get a chance in the T20I series.

He was released from Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL auction and his absence from T20I series can affect his chances at the auction on December 19.

West Indies retained other members of the T20I squad who faced Afghanistan. Kesrick Williams was the highest wicket-taker in the series with eight scalps. Good performance with the ball ahead of the auction will surely boost his chances of getting picked by an IPL team.

In the batting department, Evin Lewis had started the series with an innings of 68 but managed 38 runs in the next two T20Is. He was also released by Mumbai Indians ahead of the auction.

West Indies, who won the ODI series 3-0, lost the T20I series 1-2. After registering a 30-run win in the opening T20I, the World Champions lost the next two T20Is – both while chasing the target.

With Virat Kohli coming back, India hold a strong chance of defeating the Kieron Pollard and co. The three-match T20I series kicks off on December 6 in Hyderabad. The next two T20Is will be played on December 8 and 11 in Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai, respectively.

Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Brandon King, Fabian Allen, Jason Holder, Hayden Walsh Jr., Lendl Simmons, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Sheldon Cottrell, Denesh Ramdin, Kesrick Williams