Chris Gayle returns to the Windies squad for the first two ODIs against England

Windies have managed to blow England away in the ongoing Test series. They have already won the series with one game still to go and would be hoping to continue dominating the visitors in the ODI series which follow. England are a completely different unit in the limited-overs format and it will be tough for the Carribean side to overpower them. However, the home side has been boosted massively with the swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle’s return to the side ahead of the World Cup.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) selectors announced the 14-man squad for the first two ODIs of the five-match series. While the veteran Gayle has made his comeback, Marlon Samuels seems to be missing the whole series due to the ongoing treatment on his knees. The talented youngster Nicholas Pooran has received a maiden call-up to the ODI squad following his heroics in the shortest format.

Vital series for World Cup 2019

The chairman of selectors Courtney Browne justified the selections and exclusions saying that the ignored players will be considered for selection later in the series. He also welcomed Chris Gayle and Ashley Nurse back to the squad while explaining the reason for Shannon Gabriel’s axing.

“We welcome the return of Chris Gayle who missed the last two series and Ashley Nurse from injury. We are pleased to introduce Nicholas Pooran to the ODI squad for the first time. He is clearly a young player with undoubted talent and we believe he can add value to our middle order. Shannon Gabriel remains very much in our World Cup plans but with a heavy workload expected in the Test series he will be considered for selection later in the ODI series,” Browne said.

Browne also looked at this series as a vital part of the team’s World Cup preparations while hailing England as the top-ranked ODI team. “As we continue our Cricket World Cup preparations, the upcoming series against the top-ranked ODI side is a great opportunity for us to gauge where we are as a team. This allows us to identify any areas that need addressing relating to selection and also helps the coaching staff to fine tune their game strategy,” he added as per the statement released by the board.

Here’s the squad: Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Christopher Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder (Capt), Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.

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