Fabian Allen ruled out

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In a big blow to West Indies ahead of their T20 World Cup campaign, star all-rounder Fabian Allen has been ruled out of the entire ICC event. It has been confirmed that Allen has withdrawn from the squad after he sustained an ankle injury. Moreover, Akeal Hosein has been named as Allen's replacement in the team.

Hosein was earlier named in the travelling reserves and now finds himself in the main squad. Consequently, Gudakesh Motie has now been named in place of Hosein in the reserves' list.

Allen has done reasonably well in the Caribbean colours and was expected to play a key role for the Men in Maroon in the upcoming ICC event. However, his injury is set to hamper the balance of the side. The 26-year-old is currently ranked number 16th in the ICC T20I bowling rankings and is 17th in the list of all-rounders which is further evidence of his utility both with the bat and ball.

Overall, Allen averages 27.05 and bowls at an economy of 7.21 in the T20Is. Moreover, he has a handy strike rate of 138.88. In addition, the Caribbean cricketer is among the fine fielders in world cricket all of which made him a key member of the West Indies World Cup campaign.

With Allen being ruled out and Motie replacing Hosein in the reserves, the defending champions would have to rethink the balance of their side ahead of their opening Super 12 match against last edition's runners-up England. It is being reported that since Hosein also provided a left-arm finger spinning option perhaps he came closer to being Allen's like-for-like replacement.

28-year-old Hosein also has an impressive record especially with the ball in hand and has an average of 26.33 and an economy of 6.33 in his T20 career. In his T20I career, however, he is yet to take a wicket in 6 outings and has leaked runs at 9.75. Prior to an event like World Cup, his only opportunity to get some game time would be the warm-up game against Afghanistan set to commence later on Wednesday at ICC Academy Ground in Dubai.