Lewis to replace unfit Joseph in Windies Test squad

Shermon Lewis will replace fellow seamer Alzarri Joseph in the West Indies’ 15-man squad for the Test tour of India next month.

Lewis made his debut at the first-class level for the Windward Islands in March last year and took 30 wickets at an average of 21.66 in the 2017/18 West Indies four-day Championship.

He recently toured England as part of the Windies A squad where they played against India A and England Lions.

Joseph, in the last week, underwent two fitness assessment procedures and a CWI medical panel has recommended that he be “allowed to continue his rehabilitation to full fitness for international competitions.”

The 21-year-old Joseph suffered a stress fracture last November and has since been in intense programmes to get him back to full strength.

Since then, he has also played in an international home series against Bangladesh and the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Joseph will continue his rehabilitation programme under the monitoring of medical officials at the High-Performance Centre at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.

In the meantime, some members of the Test squad are already in Dubai and have begun training sessions at the ICC Academy as they continue their preparation for the Test series in India.

The Windies are scheduled to play two Tests inIndia with the game of the series starting in Rajkot on 4 October.

West Indies Test squad: Jason Holder (capt), Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Jahmar Hamilton (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican