Omar Khan – CWI, players need to find balance for team's good

Fri, Dec 29, '23

FORMER TT Red Force and West Indies cricket team manager Omar Khan says the current Cricket West Indies (CWI) administration must find a balance with the Windies players to ensure the best possible teams are represented across the three formats.

Last week, CWI announced a 15-man squad to tour Australia for two Test matches from January 17 to 29. As many as seven uncapped players were picked in the squad, with Kyle Mayers, Shai Hope and former West Indies captain Jason Holder all unavailable for the series. TT Red Force captain Darren Bravo rejected CWI's call-up as he is taking a break from the game. CWI lead selector Desmond Haynes said Hope wanted to play more red-ball cricket before returning to the Test arena after a two-year absence. With the 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty/20 World Cup six months away, both Holder and Mayers pointed to a preference for the T20 format and opted against the Australia Tests.

"I think this is a communication problem we need to resolve. At the end of the day, you look at the other Test-playing nations and they do not have issues like these," Khan told Newsday, pointing to ongoing Test series between India and South Africa, and Australia and Pakistan.

"All of these guys are also T20 players, but they are willing to represent their country in Test cricket too. You have to work out a balance and the (CWI) board has to be able to work out that balance."