Photo: Collected
For the first time, 23-year-old batter Kevin Wickham has been called up to the 15-member West Indies Test squad. On the other hand, pacer Alzarri Joseph has been left out of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh starting late this month, while white-ball captain Shai Hope has been rested.
Opener John Campbell has returned to the Test squad after recovering from a hamstring injury. He could not play in the home series against Pakistan because of the injury; Kirk McKenzie got the chance in his place at the time.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) said in a statement that Joseph had been withdrawn from the squad on the advice of a specialist doctor after a routine medical examination. As the physical strain is greater in red-ball cricket, the board has decided to manage his workload to avoid injury, and the decision was taken with Joseph’s consent.
The West Indies cricket board confirmed that Joseph has not been dropped from limited-overs cricket.
The CWI statement said, ‘He has, however, not been dropped from limited-overs cricket. In Test matches the physical strain on pacers and the risk of injury are comparatively higher. Joseph will continue working with the medical team and specialists to prepare for a full return to the longer format of cricket.’
All-rounder Kemo Paul has come into the Test series squad in Joseph’s place.
This is the second Test series in a row that Joseph is missing. When the squad was announced in July, the West Indies cricket board said he had not been considered for the Pakistan series for personal reasons.
Head coach Daren Sammy later said that Joseph had ‘refused’ to play Tests. Joseph hit back at a sports programme, calling Sammy’s remark ‘controversial’ and ‘without context’.
On the Bangladesh tour, the West Indies pace attack has Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph; joining them as pace-bowling all-rounders are Kemo Paul and Justin Greaves.
In spin the specialist bowlers are Jomel Warrican and Joshua Bishop, while all-rounder Kavem Hodge and captain Roston Chase will also have a role in the spin attack.
CWI said Shai Hope has been rested after playing continuously across the three formats; keeping in mind the ODI World Cup qualifiers to be held in February 2027, the board is taking his workload and physical fitness into consideration.
Wickham earned his place in the national side by scoring three centuries in three successive innings in the West Indies Championship, the domestic four-day competition.
Playing for Barbados, he made 105, 153 and an unbeaten 108 respectively. With 393 runs at an average of 78.60 in the competition, he was third on the list of highest run-scorers. In all, he has six centuries at an average of 40.88 in 25 first-class matches.
This is the West Indies’ last series in the ongoing 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle; the team is now eighth in the points table.
Amir Jangoo will join the squad after the first T20 in Lucknow. The full squad will arrive in Bangladesh on 18 October and will play a three-day warm-up match in Dhaka from 22 to 24 October.
The first Bangladesh-West Indies Test will begin in Dhaka on 28 October and the second Test in Sylhet on 5 November.
West Indies squad for the Test series against Bangladesh:
Roston Chase (captain), Jomel Warrican (vice-captain), Joshua Bishop, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Joshua Da Silva (wicketkeeper), Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo (wicketkeeper), Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Kemo Paul, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Kevin Wickham.
