Brandon King to lead West Indies in warm-up T20 World Cup series

KINGSTON: THE Cricket West Indies (CWI) selection panel has announced the squad for the upcoming T20 International (T20I) series against South Africa. The three-match series, preceding the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, starts on Thursday (3 pm TT time) at the iconic Sabina Park in Kingston.

The squad has been gearing up for this exciting and highly anticipated series with a training camp at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.

The selection panel has confirmed that Brandon King will be the interim captain for the series and Roston Chase as the interim vice-captain. King was set to lead the West Indies A-Team on the recently concluded T20 tour to Nepal, before he was withdrawn due to injury. Chase, appointed instead, went on to lead the A-Team to a series win against Nepal.

Alzarri Joseph and Sherfane Rutherford will be added to the squad if their respective franchises don’t reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) final. Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran are both rested for the series and will join the squad in Trinidad on May 27.

Lead selector Desmond Haynes spoke about the opportunities for members of the squad.

He said, “These are among the last competitive T20 international matches before the start of the World Cup. Players have the opportunity to fine-tune their skills and ensure they are as prepared as they can be for the World Cup, whether they are in the final squad or reserve pool.”

Windies head coach Daren Sammy also commented on his objectives for this series. Sammy said, “We have not played together as a team since the Australia series, but we just completed a very high-intensity training camp in Antigua. Now we have the chance to integrate some of our players returning from the IPL and build some momentum as a group going into the World Cup.”

The World Cup, hosted by West Indies and the US, will be played from June 1-29.

Squad: Brandon King (captain), Roston Chase (vice-captain), Fabian Allen, Alick Athanaze, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.