West Indies (WI) head coach Daren Sammy has confirmed that fast bowler Alzarri Joseph decided not to make himself available for the upcoming Test series against Pakistan, which is scheduled to start from July 15 in Tarouba.
Earlier, Cricket West Indies had only said that Joseph would miss the two-match series because of personal reasons. But Sammy revealed that the pacer was actually selected before choosing not to be part of the squad.
“It is a big loss. Alzarri Joseph declined selection. That’s the reality,” Sammy said before the first Test.
“He was picked for the squad and is returning after an injury. But for his own reasons, he decided not to accept the selection. That decision is beyond my control. I’ll leave it to the directors to deal with situations where contracted players choose not to make themselves available,” he added.
Joseph has been one of West Indies’ most experienced fast bowlers in recent years. He has played 42 Tests and taken 130 wickets while also representing the team regularly in white-ball cricket.
What will be West Indies' bowling lineup vs Pakistan?
Even without Joseph, Sammy believes his bowling attack has enough quality to trouble Pakistan.
The West Indies pace attack includes Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Justin Greaves and Keemo Paul. The spin department will be led by Jomel Warrican, with debutant Joshua Bishop and captain Roston Chase also expected to play important roles.
“We have a bowling attack that we believe can take 20 wickets. That’s the first step towards winning Test matches,” Sammy said.
“We showed that in New Zealand and again against Australia. We matched both teams with the ball. Our batters are also improving, and you could see that during the Test series against Sri Lanka.
“They are becoming more consistent. If our batters keep scoring runs, we know our bowlers have what it takes to take 20 wickets and help us win Test matches.”
The second and final Test between West Indies and Pakistan will be played in Port of Spain from August 2.
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West Indies Test squad
Roston Chase (captain), Jomel Warrican (vice-captain), Joshua Bishop, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Joshua Da Silva, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Shai Hope, Amir Jangoo, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Kirk McKenzie, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales.