West Indies name squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2021

West Indies recalled Ravi Rampaul for the first time since 2015 and left out six-hitting 2016 hero Carlos Brathwaite in their squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

When the West Indies announced the squad on Thursday, 9 September there was no place for Brathwaite, who famously hit four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes in the final over of the 2016 World Cup to win the match for his team.

Rampaul returns

Meanwhile, Rampaul is back in a West Indies T20I squad for the first time in six years.

“Ravi will boost the team’s wicket-taking options in the power-play and the middle phase and will provide another option for the death overs,” Roger Harper, lead selector for Cricket West Indies said.

Spin-bowling allrounder Roston Chase is another notable name in the 15, earning a maiden T20I call-up thanks largely to his form in the Caribbean Premier League.

“Roston Chase has shown that he is a very capable T20 player,” Harper said. 

“He has shown the ability to knit the innings together while still scoring at a fast rate with a low dot-ball percentage. He will be an excellent foil for the explosive players in the team.”

West Indies get their title defence underway in Abu Dhabi on 23 October against England in a rematch of that dramatic final five years ago.

As well as opening opponents England, the West Indies will be joined in ‘the group of death’ by South Africa, Australia, and two qualifiers from Round 1. Only the top two finishers of the six will reach the knockout stages.

The group includes veteran batter Chris Gayle, who excused himself from the IPL in order to be fresh for another tilt at T20 World Cup glory. The Windies will need to juggle their extraordinary batting talent to find their best balance, having suffered a disappoiting home series loss to South Africa earlier this year.

West Indies 2021 T20 World Cup squad

Squad: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh jr

Reserves: Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein