Ignored Bravo, Gayle, Sammy lash out at Windies selectors
New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) West Indies cricket stars Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy have taken potshots at the selection committee one day after being overlooked for the One-Day International (ODI) tri-series involving Australia and South Africa.
Members of the victorious team at the World Twenty20 championship in April, Bravo, Gayle and Sammy’s exclusion saw the return of Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine.
Bravo took to social networking site Twitter to vent his anger at the selection committee, terming it as a “joke”.
“Joke of the day: WI selectors?? One minute Pollard & Narine were not good enough & now are perfect for Tri Nation series? It’s like magic!” wrote Bravo, who is currently playing for Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The seasoned all-rounder also lashed out at the lack of clarity in affairs and felt there is a need to get serious.
“One minute we have to be available for domestic super 50 to be selected and the next minute, it seems we don’t. Magic! Get serious people!” he wrote in another tweet.
Gayle, Bravo and Sammy did not play the Nagico Super50 in January because they were playing the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia at the time. Pollard and Narine also did not participate in the Nagico Super50.
Pollard was injured during the Ram Slam T20 in South Africa in November last year and only regained fitness in time for the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL), while Narine was not allowed to play because his bowling action had been declared illegal. He was cleared to bowl by the ICC only in April.
In a series of tweets and retweets, Gayle and Sammy also hit out at the selectors for ignoring them.
“@KieronPollard55 & #SunilNarine selected for WI Tri-Series. How is that possible @westindies?” asked Gayle on Twitter.
“WICB stop Sunil from playing super 50 and now they pick him. If @KieronPollard55 was fit he would’ve play the B Bash just like the rest of us!!” Gayle again tweeted.
Sammy, while congratulating Pollard, asked him how he had managed a comeback, “@KieronPollard55 great to see u back in odi team but tell me how did u qualify for selection having not played the super50 or ODI since 2014.”
West Indies lock horns in a tri-series involving Australia and South Africa, starting June 3.