Dear Editor,
I read with great interest the letter in your letters column by Romain Pitt stressing the need for the West Indies to field their best team again. I must say I do agree with this view since for a very long time we have been putting forward a team that is second rate.
The selectors somehow have decided to discard players like Dwayne Bravo, and now in the air is the sacking of Dinesh Ramdin, the best wicket keeper in the region. With the change of command in the selection panel much was expected, since most were disappointed at the policy of the great Clive Lloyd whose choice of players fans found hard to fathom. When the likes of Permaul, Bissoo and Johnson were not featured in any game for a while, one is left to wonder what qualifies for a West Indies call-up; do performances still count?
The sacking of Ramdin is a bombshell, and with this strong Indian team I get the feeling that the selectors are in experimental mode. This will be a colossal blunder; India is among the strongest teams in the world, and we can’t afford to become complacent with our selection policy. I call on the selectors to give to the young captain the backing of the best team the region has to offer.
Chris Gayle must by all means be retained as the opener with young Braithwaite; Darren Bravo should come in at number three, Marlon Samuels at number four and either Johnson or Blackwood at number five. I sincerely believe that Dwayne Bravo should be encouraged to re-enter Test cricket and be placed at number six in the order; then comes the wicket keeper at number seven, the captain at number eight, Narine at nine, the fast bowler Taylor at ten and Gabriel at eleven.
Whether the selectors will go this way is anybody’s guess, but if they do then it would call for changing the rule that players must be available for domestic seasons to qualify. The love for West Indies would never falter; dislike of the selection is what irks the fans.
Yours faithfully,
Ivan John
