The West Indian selectors have named a depleted squad for the Champions Trophy to be played in the month of September, after there were no signs of truce between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and West Indies Players Association (WIPA). Earlier, the selectors had named a second string 30-man pre-squad when the main players had refused to play in the three ODI series against Bangladesh, which meant that the second string team had to feature against Bangladesh as well. They had lost 0-3.
The bone of contention between the two sides has been the contract to be signed between the players and the board. The impasse had then been referred to the government and CARICOM and Shridath Ramphal had been appointed as a mediator. Ramphal had only recently said that there wasn’t any progress made yet, though he had said that both wanted to resolve the issue. He had also said that the negotiations did not affect the obligation of the board to select the best available team.
However, all that seems to have fallen to deaf ears, as the board seems to have stuck to their guns of playing with an under-strength side. Darren Powell, however, has been selected despite being a part of the main players’ side earlier. Amongst the rest, Rawl Lewis has been dropped, as have been Devon Thomas and Nelon Pascal.
The side will be captained by Floyd Reifer who had earlier asked for time to prove that his inexperienced side could perform well too.
The Squad: Floyd Reifer (capt), Darren Sammy, David Bernard, Tino Best, Royston Crandon, Travis Dowlin, Andre Fletcher, Nikita Miller, Daren Powell, Kieran Powell, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Devon Smith, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton (wk).