Windies skipper Kieron Pollard ruled out of Pakistan tour

West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard has been ruled out of the upcoming limited-overs tour of Pakistan, scheduled to begin later in the month, due to not recovering from a hamstring injury, Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced.

Pollard had sustained the injury during the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman.

Meanwhile, the CWI named Devon Thomas and Rovman Powell as Pollard’s replacements for the ODI and T20I squads respectively.

“Pollard will undergo rehabilitation work in Trinidad, under the supervision of CWI’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Israel Dowlat, and will be reassessed in a few weeks ahead of the upcoming home tours against Ireland and England in January 2022,” said a statement by the CWI.

In Pollard’s absence, Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope will be leading the West Indies T20I and ODI teams respectively.

“With Pollard ruled out, Nicholas Pooran will lead the team in the T20Is. He was stand-in Captain when West Indies beat Australia 4-1 in the five match CG Insurance T20I Series in St. Lucia earlier this year. Shai Hope will Captain the team in the ODIs for the first time. Pooran is Vice Captain for the ODIs and Hope the Vice Captain for the T20Is,” further said the statement.

As per the schedule, West Indies will land in Pakistan on December 9 and will feature in three T20Is and as many T20Is.

Notably, the three ODIs will be a part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, which acts as securing direct qualification spots for the top seven teams plus hosts India for the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

All the six matches will be staged at the National Stadium in Karachi, which will operate at its full strength after the National Command and Control Center (NCOC) allowed a full capacity crowd last week.

Notably, it will be the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit Pakistan that a full house will be permitted.

Earlier, the NCOC had permitted only 25 percent crowd attendance in the stadiums with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had requested the national apex COVID-19 body to allow 100 percent capacity for the series.

West Indies Squads

ODIsShai Hope (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice Captain), Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.

T20IsNicholas Pooran (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice Captain), Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.

News Desk

Read Previous

South Africa series from Dec 26, 5-day Tests for women’s team: BCCI in its AGM

Read Next

Perth stripped of hosting rights for fifth Ashes Test