Guyana disappointed at Veerasammy Permaul's non-selection

Sunil Narine

Georgetown (Guyana), February 4 (IANS) Guyana Cricket Board (BCB) on Wednesday expressed its disappointment over the non-selection of left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul to replace Sunil Narine in the West Indies squad for the World Cup.

BCB released a statement saying it's puzzled by the selection of Jamaican left-arm spinner Nikita Miller over Permaul and has called on Clive Lloyd headed West Indies selection panel to be consistent with their selection policy, reports CMC.

Miller, a seasoned Jamaican spinner, has not played for the West Indies in nearly a year but has the experience of 45 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), where he has taken 40 wickets.

Narine pulled out of the World Cup squad, citing the need to continue work on his bowling.

He has been doing remedial work on his bowling ever since being reported for having a suspected illegal action during the Champions League Twenty20 in September last year.

The BCB, formed in 1939 and backed by three associations and 13 clubs, has suggested that the selection of Miller was a contradiction in light of public comments attributed to Lloyd stating that it was time to rebuild West Indies cricket with younger players who perform consistently.

The 25-year-old Permaul is the leading bowler in the Four-Day Franchise after the first phase of four rounds with 32 wickets while the 32-year-old Miller is ninth on the list of most wickets.

BCB's criticism of Lloyd comes four months after the board publicly praised his appointment as chairman of West Indies selection panel.