Kemar Roach ruled out West Indies tour of England due to knee injury

In a major development for the West Indies, veteran pacer Kemar Roach has been ruled out of the side’s upcoming tour of England. Roach was withdrawn from the squad following a knee injury while playing for Surrey in the County Championship.

Turning 36 years old on June 30, Roach has taken 18 wickets at 25.77 in six appearances this season for Surrey. The 35-year-old missed the final match of his county stint, away to Hampshire, and has been pulled out of the West Indies’s tour to England. He has been replaced by Jeremiah Louis, the uncapped fast bowler from St. Kitts and Nevis.

"Kemar's skill and experience in English conditions will be missed. However, this opportunity has been long in the making for Jeremiah Louis. He certainly has the skill and experience to make an impact in England,” CWI’s (Cricket West Indies) lead selector, Desmond Haynes, was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. 

I have no retirement time in sight: Roach

It has been a sad couple of days for Kemar Roach. With a total of 270 Test wickets to his name, he is the fifth-highest wicket-taker for the West Indies in the format. 61 of his 270 wickets have come against England. With some of his best performances coming against England, the West Indies will surely miss the veteran’s services on the upcoming tour. Recently, Roach has come forward and talked about his imminent retirement. The veteran revealed that retirement is not in the books yet. 

"I have no retirement time in sight, I think I can go as long as I want, but obviously it's all on performances. The older you get, you need to have performances to stay in the team. I've been doing well, but I just want to keep helping the youngsters so they're in a good space - mentally and physically. I'll be happy to see those guys going after me and breaking those records if they have to,” Roach had said in May.