West Indies announces 12-member squad for home series against Bangladesh; Jason Holder rested

Former West Indies skipper Jason Holder has been rested for the series against Bangladesh at home after the former asked the board for some time off. Cricket West Indies (CWI) have announced a 12-member squad to take on the visitors in the two match Test series starting June 16.

Three uncapped players have been named in the Kraigg Brathwaite-led side for the Tests, including spinner Gudakesh Motie, fast bowler Anderson Phillip, and wicketkeeper Devon Thomas.

Both Motie and Thomas have played limited-overs cricket for the Windies, while Phillip is yet to make his debut in any format.

The experienced Kemar Roach is still on the sidelines after suffering an injury in County cricket and will only be available as a 13th player if fit.

"Allrounder Jason Holder is unavailable for selection as CWI has granted his request for a period of rest and recovery. He will therefore miss Bangladesh's all-format tour of the West Indies. 

If he [Roach] is passed fit, he will be included as the 13th player in the Test squad," stated CWI.

Shamarh Brooks and Veerasammy Permaul, who featured in West Indies' win over England in February, have been dropped.

Speaking about team choices for the Bangladesh Test series, the Chairman of the Selection Committee, Desmond Haynes, said: "Devon Thomas has been knocking on the door for quite some time. He has done extremely well in our franchise cricket system and we view this as a good opportunity to give him a go.

You would notice that Raymon Reifer is also in the squad. He is another person that has done impressively well in the four-day competition and against England (earlier this year). So again, we are giving opportunities to guys who are performing. We think Gudakesh Motie is one of those guys who is also bowling well, and we think it will be a good opportunity for him to be involved."

The two matches will be played in Antigua and St Lucia, respectively, on June 16 and 24. West Indies have a good chance of improving their standings, currently sixth in the Test Championship points table, while Bangladesh is placed at the ninth position.

"We are looking to pick up World Test Championship points against Bangladesh, which will be very important. It would be good for us to use our home advantage to win both Test matches and collect those points," concluded Haynes.

West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillp, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas (wk)

Reserves: Tagernarine Chanderpaul, Shermon Lewis