Spinner Narine out of World Cup

Experienced off-spinner Sunil Narine was not considered for selection for the West Indies team for the upcoming ICC World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, due to fitness reasons, Chief Selector, Roger Harper explained.

The 33-year-old Narine has not  played for the West Indies since the Indian tour of the West Indies in 2019.

But he has been a key part of the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) bowling attack during the  2021 Caribbean Premier League  (CPL) in St. Kitts, with a haul of 11 wickets at an average of 13.90 an economy  rate of 4.78 and a strike rate of  17.4.

During  a Zoom press conference after the squad was announced last week, Harper “Narine is a great miss for the  team like this, in a tournament like this. However, Sunil does not fit our fitness criteria,” he said.

Harper said Narine failed to pass a yo-yo test, hence his non-selection.

With regards to Chris Gayle’s fitness, Harper said the hard-hitting batsman has a medical exemption so he does not have to meet the same fitness standards the younger players have to do.