…Charles returns, Reifer and Cariah in
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WITH the 2022 T20 Cricket World Cup in Australia just over a month away, Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the squad that will be seeking to wrestle the title from the host.
CWI Selection Panel confirmed 15 players who will represent the West Indies for the October 16 to November 13 tournament.
The West Indians are the only team to have twice won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup - Sri Lanka in 2012 and in India in 2016.
Selection of the squad was based on performances at the ongoing Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which has seen left-hand opening batter Evin Lewis being recalled for the first time since the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup.
Two uncapped players have been selected - right-arm leg-spinner/allrounder Yannic Cariah and left-hand batting allrounder Raymon Reifer.
The West Indies campaign to win an unprecedented third ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title starts on October 17, when they take on Scotland in the first of three Group B fixtures to be played at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart, Tasmania to qualify for the Super 12 phase of the tournament.
Nicholas Pooran will lead the West Indies in his first World Cup as captain, with Rovman Powell as vice-captain.
Speaking about the squad, Lead Selector Desmond Haynes said the team is full of youth and experience, and posited that he is confident that the team could make it out of the opening round.
“We have selected a mixture of youth and experience to represent the West Indies. In the selection process, we have been cognizant of the ongoing CPL and we have been looking at the players who have been playing very well. I said at the beginning of my tenure that I would be interested in giving players the opportunity and I think I have been consistent in doing that. I believe it is a very good team we have selected, and it is a team that will compete, given that we have to qualify from Round One into the Super12s,” Haynes was quoted as saying by CWI media.
West Indies entered the 2020 T20 World Cup as the defending champions and looked out of sorts in the Sub-continent, failing to qualify for the knockout stages.
The then Selection Panel received heavy criticism for the team selection.
Haynes, at a press conference late yesterday afternoon (Sept. 14), defended the selections, noting that many of the players identified by the media were unlucky not to make the final 15 for Australia.
“There are players who did not make the team and I hope they will continue to work hard and perform to their best in the CPL and the upcoming CG United Super50 Cup, because you never know what can happen in case of injuries or any other unforeseen situations where we might need to call up players as replacements,” Haynes was quoted as saying by CWI media.
West Indies will face Zimbabwe on October 19 and then Ireland on October 21 with the top two teams from Group B joining the Super 12s, along with the top two teams from Group A, which features Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Namibia. ?
The top two teams from each Super12 group will advance to the semi-finals on November 9 and 10.
Before the start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the West Indies will meet home team Australia in a two-match bilateral T20 International (T20I) series on October 5 at the Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, and on October 7 at the historical Gabba in Brisbane.
WEST INDIES ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022 ? ? ? ? ? ?
FULL SQUAD
1.Nicholas Pooran - Captain
2.Rovman Powell – Vice captain
3.Yannic Cariah
4.Johnson CharlesJOHNSON CHARLES
5.Sheldon Cottrell
6.Shimron Hetmyer
7.Jason Holder
8.Akeal Hosein
9.Alzarri Joseph
10.Brandon King
11.Evin Lewis
12.Kyle Mayers
13.Obed McKoy
14.Raymond Reifer
15.Odean Smith
