Ramdin dropped from Windies ODI team

Ramdin dropped from Windies ODI team

Vinode Mamchan
Published: Guardian
Friday, July 24, 2015
Windies wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin has been dropped from the West Indies limited overs team for the all important tri-nation series set to begin in Zimbabwe from August 19. Ramdin was cut from the team, which needs to win this tournament to get the necessary points to qualify for the 2017 Champions Trophy in England.

The West Indies are currently eighth on the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI rankings and Pakistan follows closely on their heels in ninth position. By the September 30 cut off date, the top eight sides in the world will advance to the Champions Trophy. The West Indies cannot catch seventh place Bangladesh after their win over South Africa recently, so they have to beat Pakistan and Zimbabwe in this tri-nation tournament to maintain their eighth spot in order to qualify.

The West Indies selection panel headed by Clive Lloyd and including Courtney Walsh, Eldine Baptiste, Courtney Browne, coach Phil Simmons and skipper Jason Holder has opted not to go for Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard both of whom were dropped from the team since the aborted tour of India last October.

Meanwhile, Ramdin’s exclusion is puzzling as he has been in good form in ODI cricket, having scored 756 runs at an average of 39.68, with a best of 169 over the past year. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has stated that Bravo and Pollard are not being punished for their roles in the aborted Indian tour but they continue to be ignored for the 50-over format.

They have been prefered in recent times for the T20 format which they have travelled the world, displaying their skills. Recently coach Phil Simmons entered into discussions with Bravo, Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell who were all playing in the Indian Premier League to find out  whether they were interested in playing Test cricket for the West Indies.

Bravo stated that he would not be coming back into ‘whites’ just yet because the renumeration being offered by the WICB is not satisfactory. He said that the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) has entered into a new agreement with the WICB and the players are unaware of what is really on offer but from what he has gathered it is much less than what Test cricketers were offered in the recent past.