West Indies announce 14-man squad for Ireland ODIs

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced their 14-man squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Ireland. The team management decided to give senior man Jason Holder much-needed rest and hence the all-rounder will not turn for the first two games. Barring him, all others who faced India are named in the squad. The West Indies’ selection committee has rested Jason Holder due to the heavy workload on him.

The senior all-rounder is a regular feature across formats and has played non-stop cricket in the last year. The selectors want Jason Holder some time off the field in a bid to keep him in good shape ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia in October. Jason Holder has been an integral part of the team in all three formats of the game. Leading the side in the longest format, he is currently the No. 1 all-rounder.

West Indies suffered 2-1 defeat in the ODI series against India

Recently, West Indies failed to win any series in India as they lost both T20I and ODI series by 2-1 margin. Now they are preparing for a fresh challenge at home and would be quite interesting to see how Kieron Pollard & Co. would get into the groove as the game progresses. The upcoming series against Ireland provides the team with the great opportunity to build on the confidence they gained during their tour of India.

West Indies’ selector Roger Harper said that it is a must-win series for them to keep ticking forward. West Indies will enter the ODI series as favourites and on the other end of the spectrum, Ireland would give absolutely everything to challenge the Caribbeans. After the ODI series, West Indies will play three-match T20I series against Ireland.

The first and second ODI are scheduled to be played at Kensington Oval in Barbados on January 7 and 11 respectively. The third and final ODI will be played at The National Cricket Stadium, Grenada on January 12.

West Indies ODI squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Sunil Ambris, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh

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