The West Indies squad for the upcoming 2022 World Twenty20 was named a few weeks ago, and it included some controversial names. Yannick Cariah , Sheldon Cottrell, and Johnson Charles were recalled, while some big names like Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Walsh Jr. were ignored.
Former West Indies players and cricket experts were not too impressed with the 2022 T20 World Cup squad and they questioned on what basis these players were selected.
Accordingly, former West Indies fast bowler Tony Gray joined the Mason and Guest radio show in Barbados on Tuesday, where he questioned the inclusion of left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah in the squad.
The 30-year-old Trinidadian, Yannic Cariah made his ODI debut against New Zealand in Barbados last month. Commenting on him, Gray said that he is not at all connected to the game of Twenty20.
“His involvement in T20 cricket has been non-existent, With Cariah, I think the selectors are assessing him on the couple of games he played against New Zealand but those were 50-over games.”
Furthermore, the former fast bowler mentioned that even though he is a very intelligent and hard-working player, unnecessary pressure is put on him.
“Where are you going to bat Cariah? He’s a very intelligent player, hard-working. I had him at the Under-19 level and I had to stop him a few times because he would be the one that would over-train and put too much pressure on himself.”
Many pointed out how reasonable it is for Cariah to join the team without even playing in the CPL this year. He has played in four T20 matches in his cricket career, and that too, six years back, is surprising.
However, Dr. Desmond Haynes mentioned that Cariah was contacted by the team because he can hit the ball well.
Commenting on Cottrell, Gray said he has not been fit enough recently to secure a place in a World Cup squad. However, he pointed out
“I don’t think Cottrell has been fit enough in recent times to warrant a place on the West Indies team. When you look at Cottrell in the last 50-over tournament, he was the player of the tournament for the West Indian people. When we look at Cottrell then, he was extremely fit. He was not only brilliant with the ball, but he was also brilliant in the field and took some stunning catches.”
Further commenting, he pointed out that if Cottrell does not play consistently, he will not be able to maintain consistency in his performances.
“The point I’m trying to make about Cottrell is that if he’s not playing consistently, I’m not sure that he’s going to fare well. We understand that he’s going to be playing on bouncier tracks in Australia and that he has different types of deliveries, but I’ve not seen him enough in recent times to make a determination on his fitness.”
Cottrell, who made his debut in 2014, has so far taken 48 wickets in 41 T20 Internationals. In the 2022 CPL, he will join St. Kitts & Nevis took 5 wickets in 6 matches for the Patriots.
I will like to hear your thoughts on Nicholas Pooran considering his poor performance in the CPL does he deserve a place on the team far less captain