Guyana Dodges Captaincy Controversy

An injury to Ramnaresh Sarwan's right knee has ruled the West Indies vice captain out of this year's one-day tournament and spared the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) of another tricky situation regarding the captaincy.

Sarwan's injury will not require surgery and will give the right-hander some much-needed rest after a gruelling 12 months in which he appeared in 16 Tests, 29 ODIs, six Red Stripe Bowl games and three Carib Beer Cup matches.

The injury allows the GCB to dodge a repeat of last year's controversy when the Guyana selectors chose Shivnarine Chanderpaul as captain ahead of Sarwan, creating a situation where the West Indies vice captain was not leading his own country's team.

At the time, GCB president Chetram Singh justified the move by saying that no one was sure that Sarwan was being groomed as a potential West Indies captain. Singh's stance would later be debunked by the WICB's cricket committee, which made it clear that Sarwan was "obviously being earmarked to succeed Brian Lara as captain of the West Indies Team."

The GCB's decision to pick Chanderpaul over Sarwan was criticised by many around the region but the Guyana board forged ahead and made it known that it was "righting a wrong" perpetuated by the West Indies selectors against Chanderpaul.

Chanderpaul eventually led Guyana to the Red Stripe Bowl title and the semi-finals of the four-day Carib Beer Cup.

Sarwan has captained the West Indies in four ODIs, winning three.

The Guyana team for this year's tournament will be picked on Sunday evening with Chanderpaul as the skipper.