Bishoo dropped; Narine, Mohammed new faces in WI ODI squad

St John`s (Antigua): Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo got the axe while uncapped Jason Mohammed and Sunil Narine were named in the 15-member squad to face India in the upcoming five-match ODI series starting from November 29.

Right-handed batsman Mohammed and leg-spinner Narine are the only new faces in the West Indies squad that faced Bangladesh prior to the ongoing tour of India. Fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who is now with the West Indies squad for the ongoing Test series but have not played any ODI for more than two years, was also left out of the squad to be captained by Darren Sammy. The squad also does not have the likes of former captain Chris Gayle and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo. Mohammed and Narine made their way into the squad on the back of a successful Regional Super50 Championship held recently. While 25-year-old Mohammed was declared the player of the tournament for his batting skills Super50 Championship, Narine fetched the coveted Curtly Ambrose Trophy for topping the bowling list. West Indies Cricket Board selector Robert Haynes said that Mohammed`s performance in the Super50 weighed heavily towards his selection. "In the Super50 Jason showed maturity, guts and fight in the way he batted on some difficult pitches," Haynes said. "He scored vital runs to pull his team out of difficult situations, scored the most runs in the tournament and as selectors we also thought that with the pitches in Guyana not being very different to the pitches in India and Jason having done so well on those types of surface that it augured well for his selection to the ODI squad," Haynes elaborated. Haynes also said that Narine`s steady progress over the past year has made him a standout spinner in the Caribbeans. "Sunil bowled well in the Indian conditions in Champions League for Trinidad and Tobago and then in the Super50 he was exceptional. Batsmen have difficulty reading him and we thought that he is deserving of his selection to show his worth against international batsmen," Haynes said. "He is also a capable lower order batsman who can give the team 30 to 40 runs and overall we are impressed with way he approaches batting both for Trinidad and Tobago and in the recent West Indies A Team match in St Lucia," Haynes added. The first ODI will be played at Cuttack on November 29 while the other two matches will be held in Visakhapatnam on December 2 and in Ahmedabad on December 5. The Squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Anthony Martin, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons. PTI