Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph to return home early from ODI World Cup qualifier
Decision taken with a view to managing their workloads ahead of the all-format series against India starting July 12
ESPNcricinfo staff
05-Jul-2023
Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph were among West Indies' better performers at the ODI World Cup qualifier • ICC via Getty Images
Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph will leave the ODI World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe early with an eye on keeping them fresh for the month-long, all-format series at home against India in July-August.
"Jason and Alzarri are two of our leading bowlers in all formats," Desmond Haynes, lead selector for the West Indies men's team, said in a statement. "We have a full schedule for the upcoming series against India, where we begin the new ICC World Test Championship, then followed by the ODIs and the five T20Is. Therefore, we had dialogue, and it was felt the best move at this time is to have two of our leading bowlers return early from Zimbabwe."
Legspinner Yannic Cariah had earlier been withdrawn from the tournament after suffering a facial injury in training, which required surgery. With Holder and Joseph returning, the squad is left with just 13 players, but no replacements have been named yet.
The series against India starts with the first of two Tests in Roseau on July 12, followed by the second Test in Port of Spain from July 20. This will be followed by three ODIs and five T20Is, the last of which will be played in Lauderhill in the USA on August 13.
West Indies' chances of qualifying for the ODI World Cup, to be played in October-November in India, crashed when they lost a Super Six game to Scotland in the qualifying tournament in Harare on July 1. That came after defeats to Zimbabwe and Netherlands in the group stages, leaving West Indies - the champions in the first two editions in 1975 and 1979 - with no chance of making the cut. It will be the first ODI World Cup without them.
They still have games against Oman, who are out of the qualification race too, and Sri Lanka, who have already qualified, on July 5 and July 7, respectively.
West Indies haven't named their squads for the series against India, but Holder and Joseph are expected to figure prominently in them. At the Zimbabwe tournament, Holder contributed with both bat and ball, scoring 144 runs from five innings at an average of 36, and picking up six wickets at an average of 35.33. Joseph, meanwhile, has been their most successful bowler, picking up eight wickets in five games so far at an average of 32.11.