WI Skipper Pollard rule out from tour of Pakistan due to a hamstring injury
Kieron Pollard will not be participating in the Pakistan tour due to the hamstring injury sustained during the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2021. The 34-year-old is not considered quite fit and needs more time to get fit again.
In the absence of the 34-year-old, Nicholas Pooran has taken on the leadership of the T20I series while Shai Hope becomes the captain of the ODIs. In addition, Devon Thomas and Rovman Powell have been added to the ODI and T20I ranks to replace Pollard.
All-rounder Rovman Powell will join the T20I team instead of Pollard, while Devon Thomas has been named the ODI team. West Indies will begin their tour on December 13th with a T20I and will play two more games in that format on December 14th and 16th respectively. All games will be played in Karachi with the ODIs, which are part of the ICC ODI Super League, which is scheduled for December 18th, 20th and 22nd.
Pollard, meanwhile, will continue his rehabilitation and recovery under the supervision of physios and medics in Trinidad before the West Indies start the series against Ireland and England. From now on the team will touch down in Pakistan on December 9th and play three T20Is and as many T20Is from December 13th to 22nd - all in the national stadium in Karachi.
The ODIs will all be part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, which ensures direct qualification of the seven best teams plus hosts (India) for the ODI World Cup 2023. Currently, West Indies ranks eighth out of 13 teams with four wins and five losses, while Pakistan is just one place higher with identical wins and losses, seventh.
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The series will also mark the return of the crowds to the stadium as the Pakistan Cricket Board has received approval from the National Command and Control Center (NCOC) to do so. Since the pandemic hit, all cricket has been played behind closed doors in Pakistan. The New Zealand series was supposed to see viewers at up to 25% capacity, but the visiting team canceled the tour at the last moment, citing security threats.
T20I squad: Nicholas Pooran (c), Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Rovman Powell.
Jason Holder, Andre Russell, Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer are not part of the tour while the selection has chosen to include the inexperienced hands of Gudakesh Motie, Odean Smith, Justin Greaves and Shamarh Brooks. This is the first time Shai Hope leads the West Indies while Pooran has more experience in this area. He led the team to a 4-1 home win in the T20I series against Australia.
ODI Squad: Shai Hope (c), Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Nicholas Pooran, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr, Devon Thomas.