Senior players still part of WI setup: WICB

ST JOHN'S: Reports that senior players in the West Indies team may be dropped permanently have been greatly exaggerated, Chief Executive Officer of the West Indies Cricket Board Ernest Hilaire said Saturday.

West Indies have excluded former captains Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, and Ramnaresh Sarwan, their three most capped players, from their squad for the first the opening exchanges in their home series against Pakistan, starting this coming week.

The move has prompted ridicule in the Caribbean of the WICB, its selectors, and its selection policy, and has led to speculation that the days of Chanderpaul, Gayle, and Sarwan under the maroon cap are numbered.

Emotions have been running so high that Frank Anthony, the sports minister in Guyana, the homeland of Chanderpaul and Sarwan, intends to write the WICB a stern letter questioning their selection policy.

Neil Kumar, the director of the National Sports Council in Guyana, has also supported the minister, but he feels that Caribbean heads of government need to get more involved in the administration of the game in the region.

Hilaire has defended the WICB's policy, and indicated that they intend to give as many untried players as possible exposure in international limited-overs matches in the next two years with the ultimate goal of winning both the 2014 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup. (AFP)