West Indies – despite being a cricketing nation bursting at the seams with quality players who can single-handedly win matches on their own – haven’t been playing at full-strength for some time now. While some players’ careers have been rudely interrupted over a dispute over salaries, some international careers fell by the wayside.
For instance, over the last decade or so, rarely have Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and the Bravo brothers – Dwayne and Darren – been part of the in the same XI.
With India set to visit the Caribbean isles for a series of T20Is, ODIs and Tests from August 3, something unusual is set to happen. Many of West Indies’ missing players are set to be seen in their maroon jerseys once again.
Pollard and Narine, both of whom are in the T20I squad, are the two biggest surprise inclusions. Both of them have seen their international careers almost end after their withdrawals from the 2016 World T20.
Kieron Pollard
Pollard has since sporadically played in the T20I squad, but failed to replicate the success he has had in different T20 cricket leagues. The all-rounder never made too many friends in West Indies cricket administration.
Along with Dwayne Bravo, he was seen as a leading figure in instigating a revolt over players’ salaries in 2014, which eventually led to the abandonment of a tour of India in 2014. Not surprisingly, both Pollard and Bravo were dropped from the 2015 World Cup squad.
Sunil Narine
Narine’s inclusion is possibly even more surprising. The last time he was included in the West Indies national squad was in September 2017.
Narine has seen his international career being frozen due to a suspect action. He has now remodelled his action to adhere to ICC’s guidelines. While this has cost him some of his wicket-taking ability, his run-containing ability might have improved marginally.
Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle, on the other hand, makes his own rules. He has made himself unavailable for the T20I series as he will feature in Canada’s Global T20 League instead, but he will be part of the ODI series, which might be his last international series.
Andre Russell
Andre Russell, who is still battling a knee injury, was also frozen out of the national team, but his recent form has been impossible to ignore. He was recalled to the ODI squad just before the 2019 World Cup after a four-year hiatus, while he has played just one T20I series in the last three years – vs Bangladesh in 2018.
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