West Indies Star Declines Selection, Refuses To Play Against Pakistan
While announcing the squad for the series, Cricket West Indies said the star pacer was unavailable due to personal reasons, head coach Darren Sammy divulged more details on the subject.
- West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph declined selection for the Pakistan Test series due to personal reasons
- Joseph is returning from injury but chose not to participate in the two-match home series
- "He was selected. And for reasons, he has declined. That decision is way over my head," said Darren Sammy
West Indies head coach Darren Sammy has claimed that pacer Alzarri Joseph declined selection for the two Test home series against Pakistan beginning in Tarouba on Saturday. While announcing the squad for the series, Cricket West Indies said Joseph was unavailable due to personal reasons, Sammy divulged more details on the subject. "Yeah, it is a big loss. Mr Joseph has declined selection. That's the reality of the situation," Sammy said at a press interaction ahead of the series opener.
"He was selected. I mean, he's now coming back from injury. And for reasons since, he has declined the selection. That is a decision that is way over my head. I leave that with the directors to come up with whatever solutions where contracted players get to decline selection," said the coach.
Joseph has played 42 Tests for the West Indies, picking 130 wickets. He has played across formats for the regional team.
Despite Joseph's absence, Sammy remains confident of his side's bowling abilities.
The attack includes Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and allrounders Justin Greaves and Keemo Paul. Spin options include Jomel Warrican, rookie Joshua Bishop and captain Roston Chase.
"What I could tell you (is that) we have a bowling line-up that we've seen that could take 20 wickets. That's the first start to winning Test matches," Sammy said when asked if West Indies had the firepower to take on Pakistan.
"We saw it in New Zealand. We saw it in the Australia series. We matched Australia with the ball. We matched New Zealand with the ball as well. And the confidence and the work that the batters have put in, you could see it bearing fruit in the Test series against Sri Lanka.
"You know, much more consistency is coming through. So once we match these two batsmen scoring runs, we know we have the bowling line-up to take 20 wickets and help us win Test matches," Sammy said.
The second Test will be held in Port of Spain from August 2.
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West Indies Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team
Darren Sammy