ICC has approved West Indies’ request to rope in left-arm spinner Akeal Hossain as a replacement for the injured all-rounder Fabian Allen, who had suffered an ankle injury after reaching the middle-east and he was ruled out of the tournament.
Hossain has played nine ODIs and six T20Is since making his international debut earlier this year. He was with the Trinbago Knight Riders in the 2021 edition of the Caribbean Premier League, where he picked up 13 wickets in 11 games at an average of 15.92. He was also working as a net bowler for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the United Arabic Emirates.
Chief selector Roger Harper mentioned that it was disappointing to see Allen miss out from the squad, as the 26-year-old was really looking forward to joining the team. He also mentioned that Fabian’s all-round abilities will be a major miss for the side in the tournament.
Hossain was initially not a part of the 15-man squad and might not have been in the UAE if not for the modified regulations, which allowed teams to have backup reserves. With the ongoing pandemic still looming large around the horizon, almost all the teams had announced a set of reserve players who can get into the main squad in the event of a player testing positive or getting injured.
Guyana Amazon Warriors’ Gudakesh Motie will replace Akeal in the reserves list. They have also asked Dominic Drakes and Odeon Smith to stay in the UAE, who were earlier associated with the KKR franchise in the IPL. Akeal will be available for selection in West Indies’ opening game against England in a couple of days.
West Indies find themselves in Group 1 of the Super 12 stages, where they are alongside the runner-up from 2016 England, Australia and South Africa. They will be joined by two other sides from the Group stages soon. Kieron Pollard will be leading the team for the first time in an ICC tournament and is confident that the team can launch a strong defence for their title.
