West Indies head coach Phil Simons has expressed dismay at the news of Andre Russell being present in Sri Lanka to take part in the Lanka Premier League. Notably, the West Indies are in New Zealand for a full tour and Russell had opted out of the selection for the series starting November 27 citing personal issues.
When asked for his reaction, Simmons was caught surprised and asked if that was for real and it was news for him if the all-rounder is actually in Sri Lanka. "Is he? That's news to me," an astounded Simmons said.
However, Simmons also stated the lack of communication between the two and said that he has not had any conversation with Russell in recent times after landing in New Zealand. "I haven't spoken to him since we came down here. He was at the IPL and I haven't spoken to him since then. I didn't know he was in Sri Lanka. I can't answer your question about that until I know what the whole situation is," Simmons added.
At the time of the announcement of the squads for the New Zealand tour, Cricket West Indies (CWI) had said in its media release that Russell along with Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis declined selection. "CWI fully respects their decision to choose to do so and states that this will not impact consideration for future selection," CWI had said in its media release.
Players prioritising T20 leagues over the national team is not a new development in the affairs of the West Indies Cricket but Russell may very well face the ire of selectors as the board is looking forward to moving on with the players for future and if the team which is in New Zealand go on to succeed against the Blackcaps as the lead selector Roger Harper had suggested after Russell’s withdrawal from the tour.
"I think as we move forward we will look at all situations, all players and determine whether we need to continue to look at those players, continue to consider those players, or we need to move on. "A lot of things are determined by how well the team performs. I think if players in the team perform exceedingly well, then it will make it difficult for those that are not on the tour to get back into the team. So a lot of things will be taken into consideration as we move forward," Harper had said.
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