The inclusion of Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard in the West Indies squad for their tri-series against Australia and South Africa has left Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle baffled, with Bravo calling their selection "a joke". The three have been left out of the announced 14-men team, which will be lead by 24-year-old all-rounder Jason Holder.
Off-spinner Narine and all-rounder Pollard, who have not played international cricket since November 2014, were included in the series scheduled to begin from June 3.
Carlos Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels, who turned heads with their heroics in the recently concluded World T20 have found a place in the squad. Brathwaite had smashed four sixes off Ben Stokes in the final over and Samuels scored 85 off 66 balls to steer the Caribbean team to a four-wicket victory over England to lift the trophy.
Also read: Chris Gayle slams World T20 match fees for the West Indian cricketers as "joke"
The two-time world cup winning skipper Sammy, who has been in the commentary box this IPL season, took to Twitter to question the inclusion of Narine in the limited-overs squad.
Gayle, who is on a high after finding his form back in the IPL, also posted a couple of tweets questioning West Indies Cricket Board's confusing approach.
Bravo, who has been performing considerably for Gujarat Lions in the IPL, also joined his fellow national teammates and lashed out at the board.
However, Pollard gave a sarcastic reply to Gayle and Sammy, and also took a dig at the board indirectly:
Narine was banned from participating in the West Indies' domestic tournament 'Super 50' in the 2015-16 season, as ICC had suspended him due to illegal bowling action. Narine's return to the national squad will be a boost for the team as he will be itching to earn his name back in the international circuit.
Pollard's last international game was against India in October 2014. Since then, he has not been picked in the squad along with Bravo.
The probable reason why Sammy and Bravo were dropped could be because of their differences with WICB. Sammy had earlier framed the players' relationship with them, and under Bravo's captaincy, the team had abruptly abandoned the tour against India in 2014 due to a conflict with the board.
The squad also includes off-spinner Ashley Nurse and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel, who are yet to make an ODI debut for the West Indies. The day-night series is scheduled to be played from June 3-7 at the Guyana National stadium, moving to St. Kitts from June 11-15 before concluding at Barbados from June 19-26.
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