Akeal Hosein replaces injured Fabian Allen in West Indies squad

Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein has been approved by the ICC's Event Technical Committee as a replacement for Fabian Allen in West Indies' squad for the T20 World Cup. Allen had originally been included in the 15-man touring party West Indies had submitted last month, but has had to pull out now due to an ankle injury.

Hosein, 28, has played nine ODIs and six T20Is for West Indies since making his international debut at the start of the year. His most recent T20 assignments were with Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL, where he picked up 13 wickets from 11 matches at an average of 15.92 and had the second-best economy rate among bowlers who had bowled at least 20 overs in the tournament. Hosein was also a net bowler with Kolkata Knight Riders during the UAE leg of the IPL.

"I know Fabian was really looking forward to playing in this World Cup, so it is very disappointing that he is forced to miss out," Roger Harper, West Indies' chief selector said. "His all-round capabilities will be missed by the team. I would like to wish him a full and speedy recovery and look forward to him being available for squad selection in the near future."

While Hosein was not a part of the original 15, he had joined the squad as a travelling reserve as per the allowance for teams to travel with extra players in view of Covid-19 quarantine requirements. Hence, in turn, the replacement for Hosein in the reserves list will be the uncapped Gudakesh Motie, who will be required to complete the mandatory six days of quarantine and test negative for Covid-19 once he has landed in the UAE, after which he would be allowed to join the West Indies squad.

The West Indies selectors have also requested fast bowlers Dominic Drakes and Odean Smith to stay back in the UAE after their association with Kolkata Knight Riders in the recently-concluded IPL there. They will be training with the West Indies squad as net bowlers this week.

West Indies began their T20 World Cup preparations with a warm-up game against Pakistan on Monday, which they lost by seven wickets. They will be playing another practice match, against Afghanistan, on Wednesday evening before starting the tournament proper with the clash against England on October 23.