Sunil Narine opens up on exclusion from West Indies World Cup squad

West Indies surprisingly are taking a lone spinner for the mega event in England

West Indies picked up their World Cup squad on the last cut-off date i.e. 23^rd of April and included trump cards like Andre Russell. The squad though, had only one spinner in Ashle Nurse as Devendra Bishoo failed to make the cut. But one name who was widely discussed inside the selection committee meeting was that of mystery spinner Sunil Narine.

The 30-year-old, who last played for the Windies national outfit in late 2017, had come into consideration under the new selection policy of Cricket West Indies (CWI) but missed out due to a finger injury on his right hand.

"I would have loved to play in the World Cup," Narine, who is currently playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, told a news website. "I've missed international cricket and missed representing the West Indies. It's where my heart lies. But I don't feel my finger is quite ready for ODI cricket. I can get through a T20 where I bowl just four overs. But even that isn't easy and I need help from the physio. It's holding me back from playing international cricket. I wouldn't be able to do myself or the team justice", he said.

"I'm really happy the selectors considered me. It shows they have faith in me, I haven't played international cricket in so long and this shows how much they want me to come back. It was good to have some conversations with them and I feel we're all on the same page going forward." the spinner added.

One question everybody would be having is if Narine is injured, how is he able to bowl in the IPL. This was answered by the chairman of selectors Robert Haynes who said that the allrounder was ultimately not selected because the finger injury he sustained a few months ago, restricts him to short spells of bowling. And the 50 over format would demand 10 over spells, unlike the T20 duties.

President of CWI Ricky Skerritt had earlier announced a series of administrative changes in the functioning of Windies cricket which included an overhaul of the selection panel.

Bottom Line: Two-time champions West Indies begin their World Cup campaign on May 31 against Pakistan in Nottingham. Narine has been in average form as a bowler in the ongoing IPL.

WI Squad for World Cup:

Jason Holder (captain), Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wicketkeeper), Nicholas Pooran (wicketkeeper), Carlos Brathwaite, Andre Russell, Ashley Nurse, Shannon Gabriel, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell.