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Sunil Narine
According to West Indies captain Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine would return to international cricket after gaining confidence in his bowling action. Sunil Narine had received a warning for his bowling action in last year's IPL. Now, he has not been named in the squad to play in the five-match T20I series against South Africa. Earlier this year, Narine had told the selectors that he was not ready to play in international cricket. So, he was also not part of the West Indies squad to play Sri Lanka.
Pollard stated that he had indicated to the selectors that he could be available after the IPL 2021. But the league got postponed midway. He probably has not got the necessary preparation or confidence in his bowling action. So, he indicated that he is not yet ready and the selectors respected his choice to not play.
The last time he played for the West Indies was in August 2019 against India. But there have been issues with his bowling action since 2014. He had played in the first half of IPL 2021 and had performed well in the Super 50 Cup with the ball. Spinners usually play an important part in the T20 format. So, he would play a significant role for the West Indies in the upcoming T20 World Cup. But the team has to play without him for now.
West Indies is always forced to plan important events without big-name players
It has affected the bilateral records of the team. The team has only won two out of eight T20I series that they last played. But they have also won the T20 World Cup two times in 2012 and 2016 respectively.
So far, the West Indies team has performed well in the ICC tournaments. Kieron Pollard would not want that record to change. In ICC tournaments, it is important to have experienced players in the team. In World Cups, the team manages to have players who perform well in the T20I format.
Nevertheless, West Indies have many big-name players available for the South Africa series. Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, and Andre Russell are part of the squad. But the selection of veteran players has earned a lot of criticism from experts. Pollard stated that the team is well aware of the criticism. But playing a young squad would also get criticized. So, it is important to not focus on the noise and play with consistency.