Hetmyer, Russell, Lewis, Simmons unavailable as West Indies name squads for Pakistan ODIs and T20Is

Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Evin Lewis and Lendl Simmons have made themselves unavailable for West Indies tour of Pakistan later this year. The quartet cited ‘personal reasons’ and pulled out as the Caribbean team named two full-fledged squads for the tour.

The visitors are scheduled to start their Pakistan campaign with three T20Is at the National Cricket Stadium in Karachi. The ODIs are set to take place in Karachi itself on December 18, 20 and 22 respectively.

“Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell and Lendl Simmons are unavailable due to personal reasons,” CWI said in a statement.

The selection panel has named a few uncapped players, Justin Greaves, Shamarh Brooks, Gudakesh Motie and Odean Smith, in the squads. Motie and Smith grabbed the limelight while playing for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2021 edition of the Caribbean Premier League.

Smith turned out to be a handy all-rounder as he picked up wickets with sheer pace and scored handy runs lower down the order. Motie, on the other hand, got eight wickets from six matches, including a three-wicket haul against Jamaica Tallawahs.

Brooks has already represented West Indies in eight Tests, scoring three fifties and one century. The 33-year-old also had a decent campaign for the Tallawahs in the 2021 CPL. Justin Greaves has also managed to hog the headlines and hence, made his way into the national squad.

“Justin Greaves is a very talented player, had a good CG Insurance Super50 tournament and performed well in the President’s XI match against Ireland in 2020,” lead selector Roger Harper was quoted as saying.

“Odean Smith really grabbed our attention in the last CPL. His pace was never in question, however he has added greater control and has displayed the ability to be a wicket-taker,” he added.

West Indies Squads

ODI

Kieron Pollard (C), Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Nicholas Pooran, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr.

T20I

Kieron Pollard (C), Nicholas Pooran, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.