Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine named in West Indies squad for Tri series

All-rounder Kieron Pollard and mystery spinner Sunil Narine have been named in the West Indies squad for the upcoming Tri-nation series that will take place in the Caribbean from the 3rd of June. The duo, who are currently with their respective Indian Premier League sides, were named in the squad for the first four matches of the tri-series. The series contested between three nations will include the participation of Australia, South Africa, and the West Indies and is scheduled to begin in June.

Kieron Pollard, who is currently representing his franchise the Mumbai Indians, last played an ODI for the West Indies in November 2014. His compatriot Sunil Narine also played his last ODI in the fall of 2015 after which he was charged with suspect action and subsequently banned. He has made a comeback with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL following a clearance obtained for his new action.

The duo also missed their side’s triumph in the recently concluded World T20. The Windies clinched their second World T20 title after Carlos Brathwaite, ironically the replacement for Kieron Pollard secured an unlikely win for his country. While Narine missed the tournament while he was working on correcting his suspect action, Pollard was ruled out of the tournament entirely with a knee injury.

The 29-year old Jamaican had sustained the injury in the 2015 edition of the Ram Slam Challenge in September in South Africa. He was also named in the World T20 squad but had to withdraw as he had not made sufficient recovery.

The 15-man squad led by Jason Holder includes a number of players who will be returning to the side after the World T20. Shannon Gabriel, Jonathan Carter and Darren Bravo are the notable inclusions while Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo are the notable absentees from the side. Ashley Nurse will also get a chance despite not featuring in any of the matches in the World T20.

Also, read – Tri-series in West Indies to be played under lights

The series will begin on the 3rd of June with the first match being played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. The Guyanese venue will host its final match on the 7th of June before the touring parties move to Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts, which will host three matches from June 11 to 15. The final leg of the tour will witness the matches from June 19-24 played at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

West Indies squad: Jason Holder (c), Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Shannon Gabriel, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor.