Jason Holder has been granted his request for rest from Bangladesh’s tour of West Indies. Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer and Devon Thomas have received call-ups for the first Test.
Cricket West Indies have named their 12-man squad for the first Test of the series against Bangladesh starting June 16. All-rounder Jason Holder will sit out of the two-match series as his request for rest and recovery has been granted by the board.
Kemar Roach will also be unavailable for the hosts as he recovers from a hamstring injury picked up during his County Championship stint with Surrey. According to CWI, the 33-year-old will undergo a fitness assessment ahead of the match and if passed, will be added to the squad.
In the squad announced by the board on June 9, the management picked three players who are uncapped in Test cricket in wicketkeeper batter Devon Thomas, fast bowler Anderson Phillip and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie.
Former Windies international Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s son Tagenarine was picked in the reserves alongside Shermon Lewis. Raymon Reifer, who played his only Test in December 2017, has been recalled.
“Devon Thomas has been knocking on the door for quite some time. He has done extremely well in our franchise cricket system and we view this as a good opportunity to give him a go.
You would notice that Raymon Reifer is also in the squad. He is another person that has done impressively well in the four-day competition and against England [in a tour game]. Gudakesh Motie is one of those guys who is also bowling well,”
said the West Indies’ chief selector Desmond Haynes.
Holder has been playing non-stop cricket since January, with limited-overs bilaterals against Ireland, England, and India, followed by the Test series against England and the Indian Premier League.
Apart from Holder and Roach, two other players who were part of the England series missed out from the Bangladesh series. Shamarh Brooks, who scored 79 runs from five innings against England, and left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, who took five wickets from four innings, have been left out.
Bangladesh’s tour of the West Indies includes two Tests as a part of the World Test Championship, three T20Is and three ODIs from June 16 to July 16.
