Gayle, Russell, Pollard named in West Indies squad for T20I series vs South Africa, Australia and Pakistan

The Cricket West Indies selection panel on Tuesday announced a provisional 18-man squad for the three back-to-back five-match T20I series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. Andre Russell has returned to the T20I squad for the first time since March 2020.

With T20 World Cup round the corner, all-rounder Andre Russell is back in the West Indies T20I squad for the first time since March 2020. The Cricket West Indies selection panel on Tuesday named a solid 18-man squad for the three back-to-back five-match T20I series against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr. return alongside the majority of the squad who featured in the 2-1 T20I Series victory against Sri Lanka in March. Kieron Pollard, who led the team to the ODI and T20I series win against Sri Lanka, will continue to captain the team. Nicholas Pooran will play the role of Pollard's deputy. It has been learnt that Suni Narine is still not ready to return to international cricket. CWI’s Lead Selector, Roger Harper, explained the thinking behind naming the squad and said, “The Provisional T20I Squad was put together with all T20I Home Series Matches against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in mind. This gives us the opportunity to continue to build towards the upcoming World Cup and to determine our best squad and our ideal eleven.”