“West Indies cricket structure is flawed”- Aakash Chopra reacts to the absence of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine in T20 World Cup

Ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next month, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has expressed his surprise at seeing all-rounders Andre Russell and Sunil Narine not making the cut for the West Indies squad.

He said West Indies' cricket structure is flawed even though they won the tournament twice.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said:

“The West Indies cricket structure is flawed if Andre Russell is not playing. Different islands unite to play for the team, but I think there is nothing to join them together. In the last T20 World Cup, it seemed the captain’s [Kieron Pollard] friends joined and partied together.”

He continued:

“They are one of the most successful teams [in the tournament] but must qualify for the group stage matches. No Russell and Sunil Narine, we shall find out [how they perform].”

The two-time T20 World Cup champions, West Indies, were knocked out during the tournament's group stage last year.

They will compete against seven other teams – Namibia, Sri Lanka, UAE, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Scotland – to qualify for the group stage (Super 12) matches at the T20 World Cup 2022.

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"We had a meeting with Andre Russell” – CWI chief selector Desmond Haynes

The Cricket West Indies chief selector has made it clear that they not convinced with the all-rounder's performance heading into the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, he said:

"We had a meeting with Andre Russell earlier in the year. We're still not convinced yet and he's not performing as well as we would like to see him in the competition (CPL). I think in the situation with him; we've decided to move on and look for someone who's in form, and doing well in the T20 format."

Haynes also clarified that he didn’t get a notice from Narine either.

"I did not get any notice from Narine regarding his availability to play. There were conversations that the captain (Nicholas Pooran) was having with Narine, and from all reports, it seemed that he was not interested.”

West Indies squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Nicholas Pooran (c), Rovman Powell (vc), Evin Lewis, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Odean Smith, Johnson Charles, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Raymon Reifer, Obed McCoy, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell, and Yannic Cariah.