Gray, Wallace question Windies’ World Cup squad selection

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Former West Indies cricketers Tony Gray and Philo Wallace are not convinced that Cricket West Indies (CWI) has picked the best possible team for next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

On Monday, CWI released the 15-member squad for the February 7 to March 8 tournament being played in Sri Lanka and India.

Veteran Johnson Charles and emerging star Quentin Sampson were two of the surprise inclusions, while all-rounder Shamar Springer was a notable exclusion.

Speaking on the Mason and Guest radio show, Gray, a former fast-bowler who played 25 One Day Internationals and five Tests for the West Indies between 1985 and 1991, said he was surprised by Charles and Sampson’s selection.

“When you talk about Johnson Charles, obviously I think that he is past his best. Two years ago with the World Cup being held in the Caribbean he was eventually dropped. I don’t think that he is totally fit and I would have picked Amir Jangoo. Remember I said that if Evin Lewis was not fit then I would take another wicketkeeper. I don’t think that Johnson Charles deserves to be there.

“And obviously when you look at the young man Sampson, he has to be something very special, an elite talent, maybe a generational talent, to be that impressive enough to be picked for the World Cup after not playing a lot of international cricket,” Gray said.

Meanwhile, Wallace, a former hard-hitting opening batsman, said he was shocked by Charles’ selection and questioned Springer’s absence.

“The selected players have come under question, notably Johnson Charles. He doesn’t really have a big impact at the T20 level and has been around for a very long time, but not impactful.

“I don’t know much about Sampson. I saw him in Abu Dhabi, and I was not really impressed with him. Actually, when I look at Shamar Springer, who we saw in Abu Dhabi and who really raised the level of West Indies T20 cricket I would say, and you would think that someone like him can slot into a West Indies World Cup squad. I’m not big on Shimron Hetmyer either, I think he has let us down tremendously,” Wallace said.