Hayden Walsh Jr, Brandon King break into WI squad

SAINT JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda: Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr., who made his debut for USA in 2018 and international debut for them earlier this year, has now broken into West Indies’ squad for the three T20Is and three ODIs against Afghanistan at Dehradun in India in November.

Walsh made it to West Indies’ limited-overs squads after a breakout CPL 2019, where he spun Barbados Tridents to the title with 22 wickets at an economy rate of 8.28 despite playing just nine matches in the season.

Walsh, who was born in US Virgin Islands to Antiguan parents, is a dual passport holder and has been part of West Indies’ domestic structure. Guyana Amazon Warriors’ opening batsman Brandon King, who was the top scorer in this season’s CPL with 496 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of nearly 150, was also picked in both the ODI and T20I squads.

Kieron Pollard, who last played an ODI in 2016, returned to take over as the captain of both the limited-overs teams. Test captain Jason Holder, who won the CPL with Barbados Tridents on Sunday, is part of all three squads.

However, Sunil Narine, who suffered a recurrence of a finger injury during the CPL and was in “excruciating pain,” according to his Trinbago Knight Riders captain Pollard during the second qualifier, wasn’t picked in the T20I or ODI squad.

Chris Gayle, who made a U-turn by returning to action in the ODIs at home against India after declaring that the World Cup would end his 50-over career, didn’t feature in any of the squads either.

His comments during the World Cup caught some of his own team-mates by surprise and his international future continues to be unclear. Lendl Simmons also returned to the T20I squad that included as many as eight changes. Simmons with reunite with his uncle Phil Simmons with whom he had won the T20 World Cup in India in 2016.

T20I squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicholas Pooran, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Brandon King, Fabian Allen, Jason Holder, Hayden Walsh Jr., Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Sheldon Cottrell, Denesh Ramdin, Kesrick Williams, Alzarri Joseph.

ODI squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Sunil Ambris, Nicholas Pooran, Brandon King, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Hayden Walsh Jr., Khary Pierre, Sheldon Cottrell, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph, Romario Shepherd.

Test squad: Jason Holder (captain), Shai Hope, John Campbell, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shimron Hetmyer, Shamrah Brooks, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Sunil Ambris, Jomel Warrican, Rahkeem Cornwall, Kemar Roach, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph. —Agencies