In what could be seen as a sigh of relief for the swashbuckling Chris Gayle on Thursday (February 7), the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel has named the southpaw in the 14-member squad. Gayle will be the part of first and second One-day International (ODI) in Windies vs England 2019 series.
The Windies Board announced squad on the back of Test success. Recently, Windies took 2-0 unassailable lead in the ongoing three-match Test series.
It’s pertinent to mention that Gayle will be making a return to the ODI fold after a prolonged gap, and to be precise one year. The most-capped Caribbean star has featured in 284 ODI so far to amass 9727 runs. His inclusion ahead of the 2019 World Cup is a positive sign for the Windies.
Chairman of Selectors, Courtney Browne, is happy to see the 36-year-old making a return in the 50-over fold. He added the inclusion of young prospect like wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran would bring stability in the middle-order line-up.
The 23-year-old Pooran has although featured in the T20 fold.
However, while making a point on fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, Browned reiterated the bowler is in contention for the remainder of the impending series.
“We welcome the return of Chris Gayle who missed the last two series and Ashley Nurse from injury. We are pleased to introduce Nicholas Pooran to the ODI squad for the first time. He is clearly a young player with undoubted talent and we believe he can add value to our middle order. Shannon Gabriel remains very much in our World Cup plans but with a heavy workload expected in the Test series he will be considered for selection later in the ODI series,” Browne said in a press release.
Adamant in approach, Browne made it clear by saying the series will play a crucial part owing to the lead up of the 2019 World Cup.
The quadrennial will kick off on May 31 in London.
The senior campaigner Marlon Samuels will miss out the upcoming series while undergoing treatment on his knees.
“As we continue our Cricket World Cup preparations, the upcoming series against the top-ranked ODI side is a great opportunity for us to gauge where we are as a team. This allows us to identify any areas that need addressing relating to selection. And also helps the coaching staff to fine tune their game strategy,” Browne said.
Besides, the five-match series will kick off on February 20 at Kensington Oval and will culminate on March 2 Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia.
Here’s the squad of Windies for the first and second ODI against the Three Lions:
Jason Holder (Captain), Chris Gayle, Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach and Oshane Thomas