West Indies coach Stewart Law admits that picking the team’s One Day International (ODI) squad will be balancing act but hopes to have a settled unit ahead of the 2018 ICC World Cup Qualifiers.
By virtue of missing out on automatic qualification for the 2019 tournament, the regional team will be forced to take part in the March 2018 qualifiers. The event will consist of the bottom four sides from ICC ODI Team Rankings, the top four sides from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and the top two sides from ICC World Cricket League Division 2.
With the region’s senior players once again eligible for selection, the coach has a curious cocktail of talent and experience with which to shape the final squad.
“It’s a balancing act because what some players bring is extraordinary and you don’t want to nullify that effect. We’ve still got some selectorial conversations to have, to understand if we have the best players to take this team forward,” Law told Espncricinfo.
“There’s plenty of A-team cricket in the Caribbean – Sri Lanka are there and England are coming next year so there are opportunities – but I’d like to go to New Zealand with a team which is pretty settled before the qualifiers.”
Along with several developing talents, experienced batsmen Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels recently returned to the unit and though he requested to be left out of the ongoing series against England, spinner Sunil Narine will also be a consideration. Another player who could be a consideration is T20 star Andre Russell whose one-year ban for missed drugs tests finishes on January 31, 2018. (SportsMax)
