West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has confirmed that premier fast bowler Alzarri Joseph turned down selection for the upcoming two-match Test series against Pakistan despite being named in the initial plans.
When Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced the 15-member squad, it stated that Joseph was unavailable for selection due to “personal reasons.” However, ahead of the opening Test at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Sammy revealed that the pacer had declined the call-up after recovering from injury.
“Yeah, it is a big loss. Mr Joseph has declined selection. That’s the reality of the situation. He was selected. I mean, he’s now coming from injury. And for reasons since, he has declined the selection,” Sammy said during a press interaction.
Joseph recently returned from injury and featured in both Tests against Sri Lanka, where he claimed six wickets across two matches. He also impressed in the ODI series against New Zealand, finishing with figures of 4/41 in the opening game to help West Indies secure victory.
The West Indies head coach refrained from commenting further on the circumstances behind Joseph’s decision, stating that the matter rests with the board and its administrators.
“That is a decision that is way over my head. I leave that with the directors to come up with whatever solutions where contracted players get to decline selection,” said Sammy.
In Joseph’s absence, West Indies have named a pace attack comprising Shamar Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, along with all-rounders Justin Greaves and Keemo Paul. The spin department will be led by Jomel Warrican, debutant Joshua Bishop, and captain Roston Chase.
Despite missing one of his frontline quicks, Sammy expressed confidence in the squad’s bowling unit, believing it has the quality to dismiss Pakistan twice in each Test.
“What I could tell you [is that] we have a bowling line-up that we’ve seen that could take 20 wickets. That’s the first start to winning Test matches,” Sammy continued.
“We saw it in New Zealand. We saw it in the Australia series. We matched Australia with the ball. We matched New Zealand with the ball as well. And the confidence and the work that the batters have put in, you could see it bearing fruit in the Test series against Sri Lanka. You know, much more consistency coming through,” he concluded.
The two-match Test series between West Indies and Pakistan gets underway on Saturday, July 25 with the second and final Test scheduled to begin on August 2 in Port of Spain.
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