West Indies announce 15-member squad for Zimbabwe Tests, pacer Shannon Gabriel returns after November 2021

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has officially announced the squad for the upcoming two-match away Test series against Zimbabwe starting February 4. Both the games are scheduled to be played at Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club. The second and final Test gets underway on Sunday, 12 February.

Meanwhile, CWI has decided to recall seasoned quickster Shannon Gabriel and left-arm spinners Gudakesh Motie and Jomal Warrican. However, the Windies will be without the services of one of their key players Jayden Seales who could not make himself available for selection due to a knee injury for which he also underwent a surgery.

Notably, Shannon Gabriel will be back in the West Indies’ red-ball setup after a wait of 15 long months. His last Test appearance had come against Sri Lanka back in November 2021. Thus, the pacer would now be hoping to make an impact in the wickets column in Zimbabwe and try to cement his place in the national Test squad from hereon.

Gabriel has so far registered 161 Test scalps to his name in 56 matches. In fact, the Trinidadian cricketer had also finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the CG United Super50 Cup, where he had represented the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. 

Prior to the Test series, the Windies will also be playing a three-day warm-up match against a local side which is scheduled to be played between 28 and 31 January at the Bulawayo Athletic Club.

The upcoming Test series is inconsequential and holds absolutely no relevance for the Caribbean team as they are already out of the 2021-23 WTC final contention race. The West Indies languish at the sixth position in the nine-team table, and with the competition getting intense between the top two sides India and Australia, the Windies do not even have an outside chance of making the cut.

Here's the West Indies squad for Zimbabwe Tests

Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Tagnarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas, Jomel Warrican

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