West Indies star batter Shimron Hetmyer has been recalled to their ODI squad along with Oshane Thomas for a three-match ODI series against India, which begins on Thursday, July 27 at Kensington Oval Bridgetown, Barbados.
Hetmyer hasn’t played for the West Indies in almost a year, but he receives a recall after a strong season with the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, where he scored 299 runs in 13 innings. Hetmyer hasn’t played an ODI for the Caribbean team in two years, with his last outing in a 50-over match coming in July 2021 against Australia.
Along with Hetmyer, a left-handed batsman and a fast bowler, Oshane Thomas has also been recalled for this series against India.
Meanwhile, pacer Thomas, who last played for West Indies in December 2021 and has been out of contention in recent times with fitness issues, has also been named in the 15-player squad, which was announced by Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Monday night.
Fast bowler Jayden Seales and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah have been named after recovering from surgery, while left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie has also been included after recovering from an injury.
Desmond Haynes, who is the current chief selector and former captain of the West Indies team, said he is looking forward to the ODI series against India and is certain that Hetmyer and Thomas will perform well.
The first two matches of this three-match ODI series will be played at the Kensington Oval and then both sides will travel to Trinidad for the third and final ODI on August 1 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
West Power-hitting batsman Nicholas Pooran and all-rounder Jason Holder are unavailable for the entire ODI series, while wicket-keeper batsman Shai Hope has been made the captain for the three games.
It was a moment of disappointment for the West Indies Cricket Board that they couldn’t make it to the ODI World Cup this year, falling outside the top two in the just-ended ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier competition in Zimbabwe.
“We welcome Oshane and Shimron back into the group. Both have played at the international level before, with some success, and we believe they will fit well into the set-up. Oshane brings pace and is a potential wicket-taker with the new ball. Shimron’s style of batting will offer a lot, especially in the middle stage of the innings and he is also a potential ‘finisher’”, Haynes said in an official statement released by CWI.
West Indies squad: Shai Hope (c), Rovman Powell (vc), Alick Athanaze, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, and Oshane Thomas.
India’s ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.
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