The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has released five players in the light of the upcoming Carribean Premier League (CPL). Five players contracted by the WICB were released to go and play in the upcoming edition of the CPL which is set to start on June 30, four days after the final of the ongoing tri-series , involving Australia and South Africa. Allrounder Carlos Brathwaite, Jason Holder, Devendra Bishoo and Darren Bravo and Denesh Ramdin are among those released by the board.
Reports suggested that the final call on releasing the players was taken by selectors with the coach Phil Simmons raising no objection whatsoever. However, the condition put forth by Simmons was that the released players return in time to prepare for the Test series against India.
The Chief Executive of the CPL, Damien O’Donhohoe stated that he was indeed happy with the decision and that the addition of these players would certainly add value to the tournament on the whole.
“Our thanks to the West Indies Cricket Board, coach and chairman of selection committee for facilitating the release of the players for the opening weeks of the CPL,” he said. “It’s a tremendous boost for the competition and I have no doubt that each of the players will be motivated to add great value to their squads.
According to the agreement signed between the players, the released player w ill be permitted to stay with their respective CPL franchise until the 1st of July. After this, they will have to join up with the rest of their Test squad to prepare for the upcoming Test series against India at home. The first test is scheduled to be held in 21st July at Antigua.
The India squad under the captaincy of Virat Kohli will visit the Carribean island for four-match Test series. The 49 days long tour will Test Indian batsmen’s skill at low, slow and turning pitches for the West Indies.