Grave set to meet with exiled Windies players
CRICKET WEST Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Johnny Grave plans to meet with a quartet of exiled players following the Indian Premier League, in an attempt to clear up the uncertainty surrounding their availability.
Neither Darren Bravo, older brother Dwayne, Sunil Narine nor Kieron Pollard has played for West Indies in recent times, leading to speculation over their future in the international arena.
But with West Indies facing a heavy upcoming playing schedule, Grave said it was important there was clarity for selectors regarding the four players.
“Darren Bravo has refused selection on a number of occasions now, so we can’t continually go back to him every time we have a match and ask if he wants to be part of it,” the Englishman said.
“Dwayne hasn’t played for quite a while in any of our sides and said he does not see his future playing international cricket. So we’ve asked him for a meeting to see if that is his firm position.”
He added: “The problem we have at the moment is that there is a huge amount of uncertainty, where some players say they are not available and then suddenly they are available.”
On the tour of New Zealand last December, selectors found themselves faced with several headaches with the late withdrawals of players.
Off-spinner Narine pulled out of the Twenty20 squad followed by Pollard weeks later, with both citing “personal reasons”. Neither have played for the Caribbean side in seven months.
Dwayne Bravo, meanwhile, has been overlooked for the last 19 months, while Darren has not played since ending an acrimonious eight-month standoff with CWI President Dave Cameron last July.
Controversy flared recently when Pollard, Narine and Darren Bravo declined selection for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, indicating other commitments.
Grave said the current situation which obtained was one which needed to be addressed in the interest of the overall development of the squad, and especially with the World Cup set for England next year.