Keon Harding replaces Romario Shepherd in Windies squad for Bangladesh tour
Jan 08, 2021
St. John's [Antigua], January 8 : Cricket West Indies (CWI) has named Keon Harding as the replacement for Romario Shepherd for the ODI series against Bangladesh.
Harding was among the traveling reserves for the West Indies Test tour of England last summer. All-rounder Shepherd returned a positive COVID-19 test in his Guyana hometown and will therefore be unavailable for the Bangladesh tour.
In accordance with the established Government stipulations, Shepherd will remain in Guyana where he is undergoing a period of isolation that unfortunately will extend beyond the team travel date.
"Following established medical protocols, CWI started the first of a series of COVID-19 tests, on all members of the Bangladesh touring party on January 2," the CWI said in a statement.
"Following receipt of the results, CWI can confirm that all other members of the touring party have returned negative results," it added.
For the three-match ODI series that starts from January 20, the West Indies team will arrive in Bangladesh on Sunday.
Earlier this week, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) appointed Jon Lewis as the team's batting coach for the home series against the West Indies and the tour of New Zealand.
The fifty-year-old former county opening batsman has been in coaching since 2007 and has recent experience of working with England's ODI side as its batting coach. He has also been in the same role for Sri Lanka in 2018-2019.
"Lewis is expected to reach Dhaka ahead of the National Team's preliminary ODI squad's camp which starts on 10 January," the BCB said.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh team will depart for New Zealand in the last week of February for three ODIs and three T20Is.
