West Indies squad - Alzarri Joseph and Shai Hope to miss two-Test series in Bangladesh

Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has been withdrawn and white-ball captain Shai Hope has been rested from West Indies‘ two-Test tour of Bangladesh starting later this month. Twenty-three-year-old batter Kevin Wickham, meanwhile, has received his maiden Test call-up to the 15-man squad.

Opening batter John Campbell returned to the Test squad after recovering from the hamstring injury that made him miss the Pakistan series at home. Kirk McKenzie was Campbell’s replacement for that series and had to make way without getting a game against Pakistan.

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 confirmed that Joseph had not been ruled out from the shorter formats, although West Indies are not scheduled to play white-ball games in the next month after the ongoing India tour.

“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,” CWI said. “Joseph will continue working with the CWI medical team and specialists in preparation for a full return to the longer format.”

Allrounder Keemo Paul has been named Joseph’s replacement for the Tests.

This is the second straight Test series Joseph will miss, after he was unavailable for selection due to personal reasons for the Pakisan series, CWI had said while announcing the squad in July. Head coach Daren Sammy had later said Joseph had “declined selection,” but the fast bowler replied saying on a sports show that Sammy’s comments were “controversial” and “without context”.

The fast bowling unit includes Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph, apart from seam-bowling allrounders Paul and Justin Greaves. The spin attack has two specialist options in Jomel Warrican and Joshua Bishop, apart from Kavem Hodge and captain Roston Chase as the allrounders.

Hope was rested “after an extended run across all three formats” CWI said. The board is managing his “workload and wellness” in the lead up to the ODI World Cup qualifiers in February 2027.

Wickham was rewarded with a call-up after recording three centuries in as many innings in the West Indies Championship, the domestic four-day competition. He scored 105, 153 and 108* for Barbados to finish as the third-highest scorer in the competition with a tally of 393 runs at an average of 78.60. Overall, Wickham averages 40.88 with six centuries from his 25 first-class games.

The two-Test series will be West Indies’ last assignment for the ongoing 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. They currently sit eighth on the points table.

“At the start of this World Test Championship cycle we set ourselves goals, and one of them was to finish in the top half of the rankings,” Sammy said. “Winning this series would move us closer to it. Playing Bangladesh in their own conditions will be challenging, and we’re ready for that.”

The Test squad members who are not in India for the ongoing T20Is started their preparations at the Super Kings Academy in Chennai under assistant coach Floyd Reifer. Amir Jangoo also joins the group after the first T20I in Lucknow. The full squad will arrive in Bangladesh on October 18 for a three-day warm-up match in Dhaka from October 22 to 24.

The first Bangladesh vs West Indies Test starts on October 28 in Dhaka and the second from November 5 in Sylhet.

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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