West Indies have left Shimron Hetmyer out of their full strength white-ball squads to face Australia after he struggled for form against England.
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Hetmyer was left out of the XI for the third match of the T20I series against England in December, after he returned scores of one and two in the first two games. He was subsequently dropped from the squad for the final two matches and was replaced by Johnson Charles. Hetmyer also had a run of poor form in the prior ODI series against England, in which his top score from three innings was 32.
The decision to leave Hetmyer out comes after a prolonged period of sporadic international appearances and standout performances from the 27-year-old. He hasn’t made an ODI half-century since 2019 having played only ten matches in the format in that time. He was dropped from the West Indies’ T20 World Cup squad in December 2022 after he missed his rescheduled flight to Australia for the tournament.
Hetmyer’s T20I record is surprisingly ordinary for someone who is one of only a select number of overseas specialist batters to command a regular spot in an IPL XI. After 48 innings in the format, he averages 20.50 in T20Is at a lowly strike rate of 118.21. His record in home T20Is is particularly poor; from 28 T20Is in the West Indies, Hetmyer averages less than 15 at a strike rate of 108. It is in stark contrast to his IPL record where he averages more than 30 at a strike rate of more than 150 from 60 appearances in the competition.
The upcoming tour of Australia has been marked with selection difficulties for the tourists. Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers both made themselves unavailable for the Test match series in order to fulfil franchise commitments. Both have been included in the squad for the T20I series, along with Brandon King and Sherfane Rutherford – who will also join the squad after playing franchise cricket.
Shai Hope will captain the side in the ODI series after leading the West Indies to a series victory over England. The squad for the three-match series includes potential debutants Teddy Bishop and Tevin Imlach. Rovman Powell will lead the T20I side.
The three ODIs will take place on February 2, 4 and 6, with the first match to be played in Melbourne before the three-match T20I series starts in Hobart on February 9.
West Indies ODI squad vs Australia: Shai Hope (c), Alzarri Joseph, Alick Athanaze, Teddy Bishop, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.
West Indies T20I squad vs Australia: Rovman Powell (c), Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas
