Jason Holder has been named as the replacement for injured left-arm seamer Obed McCoy in the West Indies squad for the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup.
McCoy, who featured in West Indies’ campaign opener against England, has been ruled out of the remainder of the showpiece event due to a right shin injury.
Meanwhile, Holder’s inclusion in the squad has also been officially approved by the ICC Event Technical Committee made up of Chris Tetley (Head of Events, Chair), Clive Hitchcock (ICC Senior Cricket Operations Manager), Rahul Dravid and Dhiraj Malhotra (BCCI Representatives), Simon Doull and Ian Bishop (Independent Members).
Holder, 29, was already in the UAE as a travelling reserve and is available for selection in West Indies’ next fixture, against Bangladesh on Friday (October 29). Holder had recently featured for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the recently concluded edition of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL).
Commenting on the development, Roger Harper, CWI’s Lead Men’s Selector said: “Jason Holder has been in the UAE for a while now and will fit quite well into the team unit. He is an experienced and knowledgeable cricketer who we know will be eager and excited to grab the opportunity.”
“McCoy did really well in the T20Is earlier this year and adapted well in the opening match against England. He was a key member of the bowling unit and it’s unfortunate he won’t be able to take any further part in the tournament. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the field ready to go again in the near future,” Harper added.
Defending champions West Indies have already lost their both of their games in the showpiece event. While in the first game they went down to England in Dubai by six wickets, they later suffered an eight wicket defeat against South Africa at the same venue on Ocyober 26.
Placed in Group 1 of the Super 12 stage, the Kieron Pollard-led West Indies will next face Bangladesh in Sharjah on October 29 before taking on Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on November 4. They will be up against Australia in Abu Dhabi in their last league affair on November 6.
The semi-finals will be held on November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively before the final is held on November 14 in Dubai.
Significantly, McCoy is the third player to be ruled out of the showpiece event due to an injury,
Prior to him, Bangladesh pacer Mohammad Saifuddin and New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson were also ruled out of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with a back pain.
While Saifuddin, 24, was replaced in the 15-man-squad by senior fast bowler Rubel Hossain, Ferguson, on the other hand, was replaced by right-arm pacer Adam Milne.
According to a Bangladesh team official, Saifuddin had complained of pain on the left side of his back after the last game against Sri Lanka.
On the other side, as per a New Zealand Cricket (NZC) statement, Ferguson felt tightness in his right calf following training Tuesday night with a subsequent MRI scan revealed a grade two tear which would require three to four weeks recovery.