St John's (Antigua), Dec 5 (IANS): Cricket West Indies (CWI) said on Sunday that captain Kieron Pollard is out of the white-ball tour of Pakistan later in the month due to not recovering from a hamstring injury which he sustained during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman. It also announced Devon Thomas and Rovman Powell as Pollards replacements in the ODI and T20I squads respectively.
"Pollard will undergo rehabilitation work in Trinidad, under the supervision of CWI's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Israel Dowlat, and will be reassessed in a few weeks ahead of the upcoming home tours against Ireland and England in January 2022," said a statement by the CWI.
In Pollard's absence, Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope will be captaining the T20I and ODI teams respectively. "With Pollard ruled out, Nicholas Pooran will lead the team in the T20Is. He was stand-in Captain when West Indies beat Australia 4-1 in the five match CG Insurance T20I Series in St. Lucia earlier this year. Shai Hope will Captain the team in the ODIs for the first time. Pooran is Vice Captain for the ODIs and Hope the Vice Captain for the T20Is," further said the statement.
West Indies will touch down in Pakistan on December 9 and will feature in three T20Is and as many T20Is, all to be played at the National Stadium in Karachi from December 13 to 22. The three ODIs are a part of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League, which acts as securing direct qualification spots for the top seven teams plus hosts India for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
West Indies are currently at eighth place out of 13 teams, with four wins and five losses, while Pakistan are only a ranked above them at seventh place with same number of wins and losses.
West Indies Squads
ODIs: Shai Hope (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice Captain), Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.
T20Is: Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice Captain), Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.