West Indies announce squads for T20I, ODI series against England, Ireland; Pollard to lead

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St Johns, January 1: The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Interim Selection Panel announced the squads for the upcoming series against Ireland and England.

The West Indies will start the new year at Sabina Park, Jamaica, as they host Ireland in the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series and a one-off T20 International (T20I) from January 8 to 16.

The two-time World Champions will then travel to Barbados to face England in five T20Is at Kensington Oval from January 22 to 30.

"We have tried to maintain the general make-up of the squads from the Pakistan Tour before Christmas, with the captain and some senior players coming back in. COVID-19 has also played a part in the final make-up of the squad.

“The challenges in the next couple months are getting the young players in both squads to not only improve on their skills but maintain the attitude and desire we saw in Pakistan," Head Coach Phil Simmons stated in an official CWI release.

"We do need to start the year on a high. And we know both Ireland and England have very good teams, so we expect a very strong challenge as we look to improve our chances of automatic qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023 and building the T20 team for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2022," he added.

The ODI series between West Indies and Ireland will form part of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League, in which the top seven teams can secure automatic qualification for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.

Evin Lewis and Anderson Phillip will be unavailable for the series due to recent COVID-19 positive tests.

On the other hand, Fabian Allen has recovered from ankle injury but is unavailable for the Ireland series due to a COVID-19 positive test while Obed McCoy is unavailable due to rehab on shin injury.

Windies ODI squad vs Ireland: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Shai Hope (vc), Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas.

The COVID-19 Reserves: Keacy Carty, Sheldon Cottrell.

WI Squad for T20Is vs Ireland and England: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Fabian Allen (England T20I only), Darren Bravo (England T20Is only), Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Shai Hope, Akel Hosein, Jason Holder, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr.

The COVID-19 Reserves: Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph, Devon Thomas.