Russell opts out as CWI announces Test, T20I squads for New Zealand tour

St. John's [Antigua], October 16 : Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Friday announced the Test and T20I squads for their upcoming tour to New Zealand while confirming that Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, and Evin Lewis have opted not to participate in the tour.
CWI said it "fully respects" the decision of the players, who opted not to participate, and said that "this will not impact consideration for future selection." During the proposed tour of New Zealand, West Indies are scheduled to play two Tests and three T20Is from November 27 to December 15.
"Details of the tour were ratified by CWI's Board of Directors during a teleconference on Thursday. The Board agreed to the tour in principle, subject to final details on medical and logistical protocols of CWI, New Zealand Cricket and Government of New Zealand," CWI said in a statement.
In the Test squad, there is a return for left-handed batsmen Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer, as well as all-rounder Keemo Paul. A group of reserves will also travel to help prepare the Test Squad during the quarantine period and training camp as well as cover for injuries.
Andre Fletcher, the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman has been named in the T20I squad for the first time since 2018. There is a maiden call-up in this format for Kyle Mayers, the all-rounder, who performed well in last month's Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
CWI said that its Selection Panel has indicated that this upcoming series will form part of the overall planning towards defending the ICC World T20 title. "The panel outlined that they will continue to monitor closely the progress of spin bowler Sunil Narine and all other players in the lead-up to the global event," the statement read.
CWI's Lead Selector Roger Harper is expecting West Indies to be "very competitive" against a "very good team" New Zealand.
"The Test team has an opportunity to put into practice the learnings from the tour of England earlier this year. The team has good all-round depth and I expect them to be very competitive. New Zealand is a very good team especially in New Zealand, so we need to be on the top of our game," Harper said in a statement.
Harper also said: "In the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup, every T20I series is an important opportunity to fine-tune the team, to get our personnel, our compositions and combinations right. For our players to become more attuned to their roles and the team to have a greater understanding of what works best in each situation. So, this is a very important series for us from that perspective and also in an effort to improve our rankings."
Test Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach
Test Reserves: Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua DaSilva, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales
T20I Squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams.