Tagenarine Chanderpaul gets maiden West Indies call-up in 15-member Test squad for Australia tour

Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of former West Indies legend Shivnarine, has earned a maiden call-up to the Test side as the selectors have named a 15-member squad to tour Australia.

Chanderpaul, 26, has been a consistent run-scorer for Guyana in first-class cricket and has also been in and around the set-up of the West Indies A side. In 50 matches at the first-class level, the southpaw has compiled 2669 runs at an average of 34.21, with 10 fifties and five centuries to his name.

Chanderpaul was also named as a reserve player during the home series against Bangladesh in June, which they comfortably won by a 2-0 margin.

Chanderpaul could take the spot of opener John Campbell, who was recently suspended by the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission for a rule violation. Batter Shamarh Brooks and all-rounder Roston Chase have also been recalled to the setup, while former captain Jason Holder, who was rested for the series against Bangladesh, is also back in the fold.

West Indies' squad for Australia Tests: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood (vc), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas.

West Indies tour of Australia to mark head coach Phil Simmons' last in charge

After West Indies were eliminated in the first round of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup, head coach Phil Simmons announced that the Test tour of Australia would be his last. The two-time T20 world champions failed to qualify for the Super 12 stage, losing to Scotland and Ireland on either side of a win over Zimbabwe in the first round.

West Indies are currently placed sixth in the World Test Championship (WTC) table for 2021-23 with a win percentage of 50 percent. The Kraigg Brathwaite-led side be have completed their set of home series in the WTC, drawing 1-1 with Pakistan last year before defeating England and Bangladesh by a 1-0 and 2-0 margin, respectively.

In between those triumphs, they were whitewashed 2-0 in Sri Lanka late last year and will seek to move up the ladder against Australia, who are perched atop the table with a win percentage of 70.

The first Test of the Frank Worrell Trophy will be played at the Perth Stadium on November 30 before the caravan moves to the Adelaide Oval for a day-night Test starting December 8.

The visitors will also play a three-day warm-up game against an ACT/NSW XI before taking on the Prime Minister's XI in a four-day warm-up fixture. Both matches will be played at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.

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