Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Thursday named the Guyanese bowler Romario Shepherd as the replacement of the injured Dwayne Bravo. West Indies will tour New Zealand at the end of November for three T20Is and two-match Test series.
Romario will join the West Indies squad by the first week of the next month for the T20I series. Dwayne Bravo won’t be a part of the series after he sustained a groin injury during an IPL game against the Delhi Capitals. Such was the severity of his injury. Even the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ruled him out from their squad for the entire tournament.
“I was really looking forward to the tour of New Zealand as it has been so many months since I last wore maroon in Sri Lanka back in March and we are all so excited about building towards defending our T20 World Cup next year,” Bravo said.
“Unfortunately, the injury I sustained on Saturday playing for CSK has not only ruled me out of the IPL but also the tour. I’m making arrangements to return to Trinidad over the next few days where I will continue my rehab and treatment. I’m fully committed to representing the West Indies and I just need to get myself stronger again,” Bravo added.
The 25-year-old Shepherd had made his T20I debut for West Indies early this year. He played a couple of matches. He was a part of the Guyana Amazon Warriors that made into the semi-finals of the Caribbean Premier League this year.
The tour will begin with the T20I series starting from November, followed by the red-ball series in December.
“This is a great opportunity for me, and I want to take it with both hands. I was in the team before, last year, and earlier this year, so I have a good feel of the game at this level. I’ve been training hard and working at all areas of my game so I’m ready,” Shepherd said.
West Indies T20I squad:
Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams
