Carlos Brathwaite opts out of Pakistan tour, Jason Mohammad to lead the side

The West Indies Cricket Board has announced that Jason Mohammed will be the captain of the Caribbean T20 team which will travel to Pakistan for a 3-match series starting from 1st of April. The regular captain Carlos Brathwaite, as well as some of the other senior players of the side including Chris Gayle, have withdrawn their names citing security concerns which have taken a bit of gloss out of this much-anticipated series.

Not many international teams have toured Pakistan since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan players in 2009. Only Zimbabwe and World XI have played a few matches there ever since, while a few PSL games have also been held and since those games have gone on without any controversy, it has encouraged the Pakistan Cricket Board to invite more teams and try and pave a way for the proper return of international cricket in the country.

This West Indies series was supposed to be a major stepping stone in that direction, but with so many prominent names in the West Indies squad taking their names out, it has almost become a second string squad and that will surely come across as a huge disappointment for the Pakistani fans who were expecting some world-class West Indian players on show.

Teams to begin touring Pakistan again?

“We had a few players that opted not to tour Pakistan, due to their or their families’ security concerns and CWI have fully accepted their position. This series, therefore, provide opportunities for new players to state their claim for a regular place in the team, plus gain vital experience in different conditions”, the West Indies chief selector Courtney Brown was quoted saying at the announcement of the squad.

The likes of Gayle and Brathwaite in the meantime will be plying their trade in IPL 11 which will get underway next month. While Brathwaite is a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad, Gayle was bought by the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL auction held earlier this year in January.

Here is the West Indies squad for the Pakistan tour-

Squad: Jason Mohammed (Captain), Samuel Badree, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Andre McCarthy, Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Odean Smith, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams