Dubai: 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 ongoing T20 World Cup in UAE. Allen had originally been named in the 15-man West Indies squad last month, but now has been ruled out due to an ankle injury.
Hosein, who has only contested in nine ODIs and six T20Is, will now step into Allen's shoes for the mega event. The 28-year-old, however has a decent T20 experience from his CPL side Trinbago Knight Riders, where he scalped 13 wickets from 11 games along with enjoying the second-best economy rate among bowlers who had bowled minimum of 20 overs in the competition.
"Hosein was a reserve as per the allowance for teams to travel with extra players in view of COVID-19 quarantine requirements. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 has approved Hosein as a replacement," ICC said in a statement on Wednesday.
While Hosein was excluded from the original 15-member squad, he was still a member of the party as a travelling reserve. He came in accordance with ICC's allowance for teams to tour with extra players, keeping in mind the COVID-19 quarantine requirements. Hence, the replacement for the left arm spinner in the reserves list now will be the uncapped Gudakesh Motie.
West Indies suffered a seven wicket loss in their first warm-up game of the T20 World Cup against Pakistan on Monday. Their next preparatory outing will be against Afghanistan on Wednesday and will commence their tournament their match against England on October 23.
With Agencies Input
