West Indies announce 13-man squad for 1st Test vs India: No Gudakesh, Cornwall returns, 2 uncapped players named
Left-handed batter Kirk McKenzie and Alick Athanaze are the two fresh faces in the squad that also features left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall and left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican returned as West Indies announced a 13-man squad for the first Test against India starting July 12 in Dominica, which will also mark the beginning of the third cycle of the World Test Championship for both sides. Lead spinner Gudakesh Motie's injury is believed to be one of the major reasons for Warrican's return to the Test squad. He had last toured Zimbabwe but missed the South Africa tour earlier this year.
"Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie is unavailable for selection as he is undergoing rehabilitation from injury," said Cricket West Indies in a statement.
Cornwall, who made his Test debut against India back in 2019, has not featured for the West Indies in red-ball cricket since November 2021. It will be a toss-up between him and Warrican for the first Test as the hosts are likely to pick three specialist pacers against the strong Indian batting unit.
“We are without Motie, who is doing his rehabilitation, and this has created an opportunity for Warrican and Cornwall in the spin bowling department. They have both played at Test match level before and are capable of doing the job," said the chief selector Desmond Haynes.
Batters Kirk McKenzie and Alick Athanaze get maiden call-ups
Left-handed batter Kirk McKenzie and Alick Athanaze are the two fresh faces in the squad. “We were very impressed with the approach to batsmanship of McKenzie and Athanaze on the recent ‘A’ Team tour of Bangladesh. These are two young players who got good scores and played with great maturity, and we believe they deserve an opportunity,” said Haynes.
Haynes added: “We had Jayden Seales here in the camp and he has made good progress during his rehab from surgery. However, we felt he is not yet quite ready to return, and we don’t want to risk him at this stage. Kyle Mayers was also considered but he has some niggles, and the precaution is not to have him in the rigors of a five-day match at this stage.
“Looking ahead to the series we know it will be a challenging one as we start the new cycle of the ICC Test Match Championship. We want to build and improve and strive to move up the ladder.”
West Indies squad will travel to Dominica on Sunday following their ongoing pre-series camp at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. They will have training sessions on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning in the build-up to the match.
West Indies squad for 1st Test vs India: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kirk McKenzie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican.
Traveling Reserves: Tevin Imlach, Akeem Jordan
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