Caribbean (Commonwealth) _For the forthcoming 2023–24 season, West Indies released the most recent Central Contract list for both the men’s and women’s teams. According to the West Indies’ cricket body, three elite West Indian players—Nicklas Pooran, Jason Holder, and Kyle Mayers—have unexpectedly declined to sign the central contracts.
The elite players will, however, be available for every West Indies T20I games throughout the contract year, according to WI cricket board.
Contracts are awarded based on player performance from the 2022–2023 assessment year, with the Board of Directors’ permission and the Selection Panels’ recommendations.
Four members of the men’s team from the West Indies have, nevertheless, received their first contract offer. In the Men’s list, central contracts have been awarded to left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, right-handed batter Keacy Carty, and left-handed batters Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Alick Athanaze for the first time. In the Women’s list, two new names are Zaida James and Sheneta Grimmond, both all-rounders.
The West Indies veterans aren’t on the list since they turned down the offer of central contracts, but they did affirm that they would be available for all West Indies T20 Internationals during the contract year, so there’s still a chance they’ll be included in the team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024. Holder and Pooran have both led the West Indies as captains before.
As the West Indies get ready to co-host the event with the USA, Dr. Desmond Haynes, Lead Selector for Men, is keeping an eye on the impending competition.He stated, “We have had numerous in-depth discussions with the two Head Coaches regarding the style of cricket they wish to play. We have a busy year of cricket ahead of us in all three formats.”
We have a pretty clear idea of where we want to go. We want to challenge for the top place when we host and participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 on home soil, and the players who have been offered contracts are among those we intend to appear.
Along with these two important tasks, we have away Test Series in Australia and England. In the 50-over format, we want to develop a core group of players who will compete in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2027.
Ann Browne-John, the lead selector for West Indies women’s cricket, focused on long-term alternatives in players who can advance the sport in the region. A group of players that the selectors feel have the potential to advance West Indies cricket have been recognized. We have placed a strong emphasis on the younger players’ development since we believe it is essential to their advancement to the international stage. With a number of prominent bilateral series and significant international events approaching, we want to ensure that our players are equipped and ready for every occasion.
The West Indies have performed poorly and failed to live up to public expectations for the last two to three years. The squad also missed out on qualification for the most recent 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup.Next June, West Indies and the United States of America will share co-hosting duties for the T20 World Cup. The West Indies have responded to the disappointment of missing out on the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 by defeating England 2-1 in the One-Day International series.
After the second ODI, the series was tied, and the Windies won the third game using the DLS strategy. It continues the progress ahead for the West Indies, including scoring a victory in the third ODI against India back in August.
List of West Indies players:
Men: Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Joshua Da Silva, Keacy Carty, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, and Alick Athanaze.
Women: Jannillea Glasgow, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Mandy Mangru, Hayley Matthews, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Afy Fletcher, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi.
