Alzarri Joseph withdrawn, Shai Hope rested for West Indies’ two-Test series in Bangladesh

West Indies’ and Bangladesh (Source:Albert Perez and Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has been withdrawn and white-ball captain Shai Hope has been rested from West Indies’ two-Test series in Bangladesh, which begins later this month. In their place, allrounder Keemo Paul has been named as Joseph’s replacement, while 23-year-old batter Kevin Wickham has received his maiden Test call-up to the 15-member squad.

A Cricket West Indies (CWI) statement said that Joseph had been taken out of the squad ‘following a routine medical assessment and specialist consultation.’ The board decided, it said, to ‘manage his workload, seeking to avert the risk of injury associated with the increased physical demands of red-ball cricket,’ all with ‘Joseph’s agreement.’ CWI elaborated on the medical reasoning in their official statement.

“While he is not ruled out from shorter formats, the medical team has stated that the demands of two consecutive Test matches in Bangladesh, which require fast bowlers to sustain repeated high-intensity spells over extended periods, present a significantly greater workload and injury risk than the shorter white-ball formats. Joseph will continue working with the CWI medical team and specialists in preparation for a full return to the longer format,” said CWI as quoted by Cricinfo.

This is the second consecutive Test series Joseph will miss. He was unavailable for the Pakistan series at home due to personal reasons, as CWI had stated when announcing that squad in July. Head coach Daren Sammy had later said Joseph had ‘declined selection,’ but the fast bowler responded on a sports show, calling Sammy’s comments ‘controversial’ and ‘without context.’

Opening batter John Campbell has also returned to the Test squad after recovering from the hamstring injury that caused him to miss the home series against Pakistan. Kirk McKenzie had replaced Campbell for that series but did not get a game and has now made way.

The first Test between Bangladesh and West Indies starts on October 28 in Dhaka, with the second scheduled from November 5 in Sylhet. The full squad is set to arrive in Bangladesh on October 18 for a three-day warm-up match in Dhaka from October 22 to 24. Members of the Test squad not involved in the ongoing T20I tour of India began their preparations at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai under assistant coach Floyd Reifer, with Amir Jangoo joining the group after the first T20I in Lucknow.

Hope, meanwhile, has been rested ‘after an extended run across all three formats,’ with CWI managing his ‘workload and wellness’ ahead of the ODI World Cup qualifiers in February 2027. West Indies are not scheduled to play white-ball cricket in the next month following the ongoing India tour.

Who is Kevin Wickham and what does the Bangladesh series mean for West Indies in the WTC?

Wickham earned his call-up after a remarkable run of form in the West Indies Championship, the domestic four-day competition. The 23-year-old Barbados batter scored 105, 153 and 108 not out in three consecutive innings to finish as the third-highest scorer in the competition, accumulating 393 runs at an average of 78.60. Across his 25 first-class matches overall, Wickham averages 40.88 with six centuries to his name.

The fast bowling unit for the series includes Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph, alongside seam-bowling allrounders Paul and Justin Greaves. The spin attack features specialist options Jomel Warrican and Joshua Bishop, with Kavem Hodge and Test captain Roston Chase also available as allrounders.

West Indies squad for Bangladesh Tests:

Roston Chase (capt), Jomel Warrican (vice-capt), Joshua Bishop, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo (wk), Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Kevin Wickham.

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