Sheldon Cottrell, the West Indies quick, has clarified that he did not turn down the opportunity to play in the three-Test series against England as was claimed by Brian Lara on Sachin Tendulkar’s show 100MB.

Lara highlighted that the West Indies side was not full strength as three players declined to travel to England for the Test series, but mistakenly named Cottrell as one of those who turned down the opportunity.

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“I think it is a team that is not at full strength,” he said. “A few of the guys have opted out and they’ve had the option to do so. Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Cottrell, these guys felt that they don’t want to take the risk of going to England to play cricket. I am one who felt that if I had the opportunity to go and play cricket, I would be going to play cricket. Especially [when] all the protocols were put into place. You’re playing for West Indies and that is something you have dreamed of.”

However, it wasn’t Cottrell but Keemo Paul, along with Bravo and Hetmyer, who opted out of the tour because of concerns regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.

Surprised by the comments, Cottrell tweeted that it was not him ‘who refused to go to the UK’. The 30-year-old left-arm pacer, so far, has featured in only two Tests for the West Indies – against India in 2013 and against South Africa the following year.

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Brian LaraSachin TendulkarSheldon CottrellEngland v West IndiesInternational CricketSeries Editorial