Andre Russell returns to Windies T20I squad after a span of a year

St George: Cricket West Indies (CWI) have named a 13-member squad for the first two T20Is against South Africa. All-rounder Andre Russell, who last represented West Indies in March 2020 in a T20I series against Sri Lanka, returned to the squad.

Russell is a two-time T20 World Cup winner, having been a member of the squad which won the titles in 2012 and 2016. He has played 49 T20Is for the West Indies.

Roger Harper, the lead selector, hailed Russell as an impact player who could potentially change the game with both the bat and ball, and stressed the importance of this five-match T20I series heading into the ICC Men's T20 World Cup later this year.

"Andre Russell will add that ‘X’ factor to the team. He is an impact player with both bat and ball, and lends greater depth in both departments,' said Harper in a CWI statement on Friday.

"The aim is to build on the performance against Sri Lanka earlier this year, to build confidence, while determining our best squad and team as we run into the ICC T20 World Cup,' he added.

The T20 matches which will be played at the Grenada National Stadium on Saturday and Sunday.

Full Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair(UNI)