England vs West Indies 2020: Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul likely to skip England tour

Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul likely to skip England tour: Reports claim that the West Indian trio has refused to tour England.

England Test captain Joe Root was pinpoint yesterday when he lauded West Indies for agreeing to tour England for a three-match Test series this month. While West Indies are expected to leave on June 8, the first Test will be played from July 8 after the visitors will quarantine for two weeks.

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The series will always be remembered for resuming cricket post the novel COVID-19 pandemic. With the global crisis affecting the sport in more ways than one, resuming it amidst the scare speaks highly about the players’ urge to get back on the field.

Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul likely to skip England tour

While West Indies are yet to announce their squad for the tour, if cricket commentator and talk show host Andrew Mason’s words in SportsMax are to be believed, they are highly likely to travel without three of their mainstream players.

It is being reported that two batsmen in Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer and seamer Keemo Paul have decided to opt out of the tour. While no confirmed reason has been revealed, it might be safe to assume that the trio is against traveling amidst coronavirus threat.

While Hetmyer was part of West Indies’ XI for their last Test against Afghanistan last year, Bravo and Paul had last played Test matches earlier in the same year.

According to Mason, West Indies were expected to recall batsman Jermaine Blackwood and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel as replacements for Hetmyer and Paul. While Blackwood has made the cut, Gabriel has been included as a reserve. Both Blackwood and Gabriel had last played in the second Test against India in Jamaica last year.

Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul have all declined the invitation to travel to England for the upcoming Test series #Cricket #ENGvWI #COVID19

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) June 3, 2020

West Indies updated squad for England tour*

Jason Holder (c), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rovman Cornwall, Shane Dowrich (wk), Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach.

West Indies 11-member reserves for England tour

Sunil Ambris, Joshua da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shane Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas, Jomel Warrican.

* – West Indies’ final squad was updated at a later time.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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