(CMC) – West Indies head coach Phil Simmons says West Indies’ white-ball series against Pakistan presents the opportunity for the young players selected for the squad to make a mark and show they are ready to be part of the regional squad going forward.

“We’re looking to see who’s going to put their hands up to be a major player in this team,” he said at a virtual press conference yesterday, following the squad’s arrival in Karachi where they will play all three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) at the National Stadium.

Several players have earned call-ups for the series. Batsmen Justin Greaves and Shamarh Brook; left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who was a travelling reserve for the recent ICC T20 World Cup; and all-rounder Odean Smith are the uncapped players in the ODI squad. Smith and Motie were also selected for the T20I squad for the first time, along with left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Dominic Drakes.

The December 13-22 series will be West Indies’ first white-ball match since their poor showing in the T20 World Cup.
However, Simmons said he wants the Caribbean to put that behind them when they step out on the field on Monday for the first T20I.
He said he wanted them to demonstrate they would do what was necessary to help the team win.

“We know what happened in the World Cup and we’re not going to go back there. We’re looking to move forward and we’re looking to see who now wants to move forward with this team with our different ideas of how we want to play and how things are gonna change within the squad; not just from a cricketing point of view but from an attitude point of view and everything like that,” he said. “Those are the things we’re looking forward to seeing from this young group.”

Simmons said while the selectors had an idea of what the players can deliver, they (players) had to prove they could deliver under pressure.
And as far as he is concerned, “playing against Pakistan is as (under) pressure as you can get”.

“It would be great to see the bowlers bowling against the skipper (Babar Azam) and (Mohammad) Rizwan, and the batsmen facing Shaheen Shah Afridi, so we look forward to see what they give in this competitive situation that we’re going into,” the former West Indies cricketer said.
He added that the batters will work on plans to score on “brilliant” left-arm pacer Afridi.

Simmons also acknowledged the threat the opening pair of Rizwan and Azam will pose.
“Well, you definitely have to go in with some plans again them. The main thing you want to do is try and get them out. If you get them out, then they can’t score but you go in with your plans, and you always have a second plan in case they get off. So, I think there will be plan A, plan B, and Plan C for that pair because that’s the major part of the batting,” the Windies coach said.

West Indies will be without the high-profile trio of Andre Russell, Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer who opted out of the tour. Russell has since appeared in the Big Bash League in Australia. Also missing from the T20I squad are left-hander Chris Gayle and Ravi Rampaul.
Shai Hope will lead West Indies ODI team for the first time after Kieron Pollard was ruled out of the tour of Pakistan, while Nicholas Pooran will lead in the T20Is.

FULL SQUADS:
ODIs: Shai Hope (captain), Nicholas Pooran (vice-captain), Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.

T20Is: Nicholas Pooran (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.