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West Indies Chief selector Desmond Haynes recently addressed the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The Windies have made some big changes for the marquee tournament as they have recalled opener, Evin Lewis while leaving out veterans like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.
Haynes expressed that he was not satisfied with Russell's form and hence the board had taken the decision to move on and give chance to other players. Russell has been one of the prominent players in global T20 leagues, but the West Indian had a sub-par 2022 Caribbean Premier League.
"We had a meeting with Andre Russell earlier in the year. We're still not convinced yet, he's not performing as well as we would like to see him in the competition. I think in the situation with Andre Russell, we've just decided to move on, and look for someone who's in form, and doing well in the T20 format."
Haynes addressed that Narine wasn’t picked in the squad as his availability was unclear. "I did not get any notice from Narine regarding his availability to play. There were conversations that the captain [Nicholas Pooran] was having with Narine, and from all reports, it seemed that he was not interested," Haynes said.
Haynes also talked about his chat with Lewis, where the player expressed his commitment to WI cricket. Lewis has scored 1423 runs in 50 T20 Internationals at an average of 30.93 and the highest score of 125 not out. "Someone like Evin Lewis, we all agree that he's our best one-day cricketer, he's done so well for us over the years," Haynes told the commentator Ian Bishop in an interview during the Jamaica Tallawahs and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots game.
"We had a meeting with him, and he's committed to West Indies cricket; he told us that he's committed to West Indies cricket, and I believe he should be given the opportunity. Sometimes we have to move on and appreciate it when people come to us and explain their position to us, and if we agree, we give them a chance," Haynes explained.
