ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – All-rounder Kavem Hodge has admitted his call-up to the West Indies Test squad for next month’s tour of Bangladesh came as a surprise.
The 27-year-old, who bowls left-arm spin and bats right-handed, was named as part of a second string 15-man side selected for the two-Test series following an exodus of the senior players due to “COVID-19 related concerns or personal fears”.
“It was very surprising to me as it’s something that I have been looking forward to for a very long time,” Hodge told Dominica News Online here. “I came close a couple of times but kinda missed the mark so when I received that call…from the chairman of selectors in the evening of Christmas eve, I was really elated.”
Hodge averages 28 from 40 first class games with three hundreds, the last of which came during the recent Regional first class season when he hit exactly 100 not out, en route to compiling 454 runs for Windward Islands Volcanoes.
The previous season, Hodge stroked 481 runs with five half-centuries for Volcanoes to also catch the selectors attention.
Hodge, who featured for West Indies Under-19s at the 2012 ICC Youth World Cup in a squad that also involved current Test openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell, said his success had been as a result he had received throughout his career.
“Even before this point a lot of people have given me a lot of motivation and a lot of inspiration and they keep telling me to keep going despite all the obstacles,” said Hodge.
“But I am very thankful for all the well wishes and I want to thank everyone for their inspiration and everything they have done for me and all the part they have played because I think it is a collective effort that has gotten me to this point.
“There’s no way that I could have done all of this on my own. Yes, I was the one on the field playing the game but you still need support, you still need friends and family through all of this and I want to thank everyone for that.”
Hodge is one of three uncapped players named in the squad which will be led by Brathwaite, with left-handed opener Shayne Moseley and all-rounder Kyle Mayers included.
West Indies, who are set to arrive in Bangladesh on January 10, face Bangladesh in the first Test starting February 3 in Chattogram before moving to the capital Dhaka for the second Test bowling off February 11.
