Brandon King to captain depleted WI squad against South Africa


Brandon King has been named the interim skipper of West Indies for their forthcoming three match T20I series at home against the Proteas. Regular skipper Rovman Powell alongside numerous other players will be unavailable for the series plying their trade in the Indian T20 League. 

Powell and Shimron Hetmeyer are a part of the Rajasthan team setup whereas Sherfane Rutherford and Andre Russell are members of the Kolkata team. With Bengaluru also advancing through the playoffs, Alzarri Joseph will be unavailable as well. 

Besides these five players, Cricket West Indies have also rested the likes of Shai Hope and Nicolas Pooran even though they would not be seen in the playoffs. Sharama Joseph who made only one appearance for Lucknow, has been named in the squad and he will be in line for his T20I debut having already been included in the World Cup squad. Cricket West Indies has also confirmed that Rutherford and Joseph will be subsequently added to the squad in case BLR and KOL do not make it to the finals. 

"We have not played together as a team since the Australia series, but we just completed a very high-intensity training camp in Antigua," White Ball Head Coach Daren Sammy said. "Now we have the chance to integrate some of our players returning from the Ind T20 League and build some momentum as a group going into the World Cup."

Roston Chase has been appointed the vice captain of the team for this series. Chase led West Indies A in King’s absence in Nepal recently. The three matches will be played at the Sabina Park in Jamaica on May 23, 25 and 26. 

Squad: Brandon King (C), Roston Chase, Alick Athanaze, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Mathew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh