Port of Spain: West Indies announced their squads for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, keeping this year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup preparations in mind. The 14-member T20I side features the experienced hard-hitting batsman Chris Gayle, while fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who last played a T20I for West Indies in September 2012, also earned a recall.
Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein earned his maiden T20I call-up while uncapped Kevin Sinclair, the off-spinner, also found a place in the T20I mix. The two spinners have also been named inthe ODI squad.
"As we build towards the defence of the T20 World Cup, the opportunity is being taken to
determine our best team and squad as we go forward," said Cricket West Indies chief selector
Roger Harper said."Chris Gayle has performed very well in recent tournaments and the selection panel thinks
that he can still add great value to our team. Fidel Edwards has been selected to give the
bowling the potent firepower needed," Harper said."Jason Holder has shown his all-round value in this format in recent times and after missing
a few series he will add depth and experience to the squad. Akeal Hosein performed very well in Bangladesh [ODI Series] and had excellent stats in the CPL so this is an opportunity to see
how he equips himself in this format," he said.
"Kevin Sinclair grabbed our attention in the Super50 Cup back in 2019 and has beenconsistently economical in the last CPL and the current Super50. He will provide an off-spinning option for the team," Harper added.
All-rounder, Andre Russell, is not named in either of the squads as he continues to recoverafter contracting COVID-19 earlier this month, while some of the notable names – SheldonCottrell, Oshane Thomas, Shimron Hetmyer and Roston Chase – were not considered for
selection after they failed to reach the minimum fitness standard.Kyle Mayers, who starred for West Indies in the historic Test series win over Bangladesh,has been named in the ODI set-up along with Romario Shepherd and Jason Mohammed.