After Andre Russell’s snub from West Indies’ World Cup squad, chief selector says, ‘we decided to..’

West Indies on Wednesday announced their squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia later next month. While Nicolas Pooran is slated to lead the side, there were a few surprising calls as Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were left out of the 15-man roster. 

Even though Russell remains one of the most destructive players in the shortest format, his form in recent months has been mediocre and that’s why his career at the international level could be at threat. 

Speaking about Russell’s future with the Caribbean side, West Indies’ chief selector Desmond Haynes revealed that given the all-rounder’s form they decided to look for other alternatives. 

READ| From Mohammed Shami to Jasprit Bumrah – Comparing stats of India’s top pacers in last 10 T20 matches

Russell has struggled for consistency during the Caribbean Premier League’s 2022 edition, while he was mediocre at best during IPL 2022 as well. 

“We had a meeting with Andre Russell earlier in the year,” revealed Haynes. He continued, “We’re still not convinced yet, he’s not performing as well as we would like to see him in the competition. I think in the situation with Andre Russell, we’ve just decided to move on, and look for someone who’s in form, and doing well in the T20 format.” 

Speaking about Narine’s availability, Haynes stated that skipper Pooran had a chat with the former but the spinner’s situation remained unclear. Narine had last played for the West Indies back in 2019. 

READ| IND vs AUS: Steve Smith, Pat Cummins share pics from flight as Australia jet off for India

“I did not get any notice from Narine regarding his availability to play. There were conversations that the captain [Nicholas Pooran] was having with Narine, and from all reports, it seemed that he was not interested,” Haynes added.

West Indies will take on the reigning T20 champs Australia in a two-match T20I series in October, before opening their World Cup campaign against Scotland.