Chairman of the selection panel of Cricket West Indies, Roger Harper, says the panel opted for the incumbent which led to the non-inclusion of Veersammy Permaul on the team’s tour to England.
West Indies have sent a 14-man squad along with 11 reserves for a three-Test series at bio-secure venues in England from July 8.
The former West Indies off-spinner was addressing the issue on Barbados’ radio programme, Mason and Guests Tuesday night.
Harper was asked about the rationale behind the 30-year-old left-arm spinner’s being overlooked despite being the leading wicket-taker in the truncated West Indies Championship.
“Oh yes and with the sort of performance Permaul has had this season and over the years that’s not surprising,” Harper responded when asked about his knowledge of the unhappiness of the Guyanese fans on Permaul’s treatment.
He explained, “But if you look at the structure of the team, the test squad and the reserves you realize they aren’t a lot of spinners in the party, going to England we looked at the sort of conditions you’re likely to face and the sort of bowlers you will need in the squad and [Rahkeem] Cornwall was selected as the spinner in the Test squad from his last performance in his last Test match and looking at the reserves we looked at replacements and positions in the team and we picked one spinner as a direct replacement and we kind of went for the incumbent [Jomel Warrican] who was on the last tour.”
Harper did acknowledge, “Permaul has been performing exceptionally well over the last few years.”
Since Permaul’s snub, the Guyana Cricket Board along with the Berbice Cricket Board and his local club, Albion Community Centre Cricket Club have been calling for answers and expressing their amusement on the issue. Harper noted he is aware of their dissatisfaction and said, “I’m not surprised.”
