Due to Jayden Seales’ knee injury, West Indies have called up seasoned fast bowler Shannon Gabriel for their upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. They have also added two left-arm spinners, Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican, to their Test squad.
Seales wasn’t available for selection because he was still healing from knee surgery. Due to an injury, Anderson Phillip was also unable to work. Shamarh Brooks was not included in the lineup.
With 56 Test appearances Gabriel last competed against Sri Lanka in November 2021. In November of last year, he shared the top wicket-taking position for the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the Super50 Cup. While Motie, who made his debut against Bangladesh in June 2022, gets another chance, Warrican made his final appearance for the West Indies in the same series in Sri Lanka.
“We looked at the conditions we anticipate playing in, and have included two left-arm spinners who didn’t go to Australia in Motie and Warrican,” lead selector Desmond Haynes reasoned. “With our fast bowlers, Seales has done extremely well for us since he started back in 2021, but with him unavailable we have decided that Gabriel would be best able to fill that role.
“He (Gabriel) is an experienced bowler who has been at the international level for over 10 years and has knowledge of the conditions in Zimbabwe when we won there in 2017.”
Squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Tagnarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas, Jomel Warrican
