Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the T20I squad for the first two T20Is against England. Big names in Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran return to the side after missing the series against Sri Lanka.
West Indies won the ODI series against England 2-1. They performed as a team which was much needed after a disappointing performance on the Sri Lankan tour. West Indies lost both T20I and ODI series in Sri Lanka. They had a bad T20 World Cup earlier this year.
West Indies will host England for a 5-match T20I series. The series is called the “Rivalry Series”. Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Akeal Hosein and Shimron Hetmyer return to the T20I squad after missing the Sri Lanka series due to ‘personal reasons’.
Rovman Powell will lead the side. The Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados will host the first two games of the series. The next three matches will be played at Gros Islet in St Lucia.
Plenty of Experience in West Indies T20I Squad
T20 is the strongest format for the West Indies. Their players play in every T20 and franchise cricket league in the world. The likes of Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Akeal Hosein, Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer have plenty of experience in the shortest format.
Head coach Darren Sammy is pretty confident about the selected squad for the series against England. He said that the team will continue playing the brand of cricket which will help them to win games.
“The T20 team is our most settled team with lots of experienced players. However, the difficulty will be picking the eleven, as every single player is challenging for a spot in the eleven. As we face a very good England team, I am confident that the selected squad will continue to play a brand of cricket that allows us to win games and this Rivalry series”, he said.
West Indies’ 15-member squad for the first two games against England: Rovman Powell (captain), Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Terrance Hinds, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd
