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Cricket West Indies has named a provisional 17-member squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Pakistan. Pacer Chemar Holder and batsman Shamarh Brooks have made a cut into the squad which sees the likes of Darren Bravo and Shannon Gabriel missing. The first game of the series will be played between August 12-16 at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, while the second game will be played between August 20-24 at the same venue. Notably, the two teams faced each other in the T20I series of four matches prior to this, three of which got washed out due to rain and one was won by the hosts Windies.
Talking about the duo- Holder and Bravo, the former has played only one Test for the side so far and is returning to the squad in the longest format after almost nine months. Interestingly, Bravo's last game in the format was also the same; against New Zealand in December last year.
Here is the complete provisional squad of Windies:
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood (vc), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Rahkeem Cornwall, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Jahmar Hamilton, Chemar Holder, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jomel Warrican
Brooks batted his way by scoring an accomplished century: Roger Harper
“Chemar Holder returns, having recovered from his injury. He will bolster the fast bowling department. Shamarh Brooks batted his way into the provisional squad by scoring an accomplished century. He will certainly add some depth to the squad’s batting," said Roger Harper, chief selector of the men's team.
Roger clarified that Garbriel misses out to rehab completely while Bravo will be a part of the Test series against South Africa. “Shannon Gabriel has been given time to rehab fully and build his conditioning, so he was not part of the preparations for the Test series against Pakistan, which included the Best v Best game. Darren Bravo has been part of the ‘bubble’ from the preparation camp leading into the Test series against South Africa and has been given a break.”
“I expect the team to be highly competitive in every department while playing with passion, purpose and determination. I look forward to the batsmen stepping up as they did in the series against Bangladesh and against Sri Lanka earlier this year in Antigua,” Harper added.