Big-name exclusions a surprise to BCB

It came as a surprise to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that big names such as Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard and Darren Bravo had opted out of next month's tour, featuring three ODIs and two Tests, and were not named in the squads due to concerns over Covid-19 or personal reasons.

Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran also opted out due to Covid-19-related concerns while Fabian Allen and Shane Dowrich were unavailable due to personal reasons, Cricket West Indies (CWI) informed through a press release.

Brathwaite will captain the team in Tests while former Trinidad & Tobago and West Indies A team captain, Jason Mohammed, will lead out the ODI team.

West Indies participated in the first international series after the Covid-19 outbreak, at a time when the pandemic was at its peak, especially in the United Kingdom. That did not deter a three-Test tour in July this year.

Jason Holder and his troops have also travelled to New Zealand for a full-fledged tour while many of their top cricketers also took part in the Indian Premier League in the UAE during the pandemic.

Despite a two-member inspection team from CWI expressing satisfaction over the proposed health safety protocols before giving the green signal to the tour, the majority of the regular West Indies cricketers opting out came as a big disappointment.

"To be honest it was a surprise for us to see at least 80-90 per cent of regular players from the West Indies opting out of the tour citing fears of Covid-19. It was unfortunate. We didn't expect such a huge number of regular players would opt out of the tour as the inspection team were also satisfied with our preparations," BCB's media committee chairman Jalal Yunus told The Daily Star.

The West Indies series will also mark the return of international cricket to Bangladesh. As the first international series since March, the BCB are desperate to take all the measures to make the series a success.

"Look this series is very important for us and we have taken all the necessary measures, be they health-wise or logistical. The BCB is committed to give the best. As this will be our first international series since the pandemic, financial issues such as broadcasting the series are also there. But if the big names are missing then it becomes difficult because ultimately we have to sell the product too," Jalal said, adding that it was ultimately a call for West Indies Cricket.