Three uncapped players included in West Indies squad for Bangladesh
Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, quick Anderson Phillip and wicketkeeper-batter Devon Thomas could earn a debut during the first Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua after they were all named in a 12-player squad.
Experienced right-hander Kraigg Brathwaite will captain West Indies during the two-Test series, with veteran seamer Kemar Roach still a chance to be included as the 13th player if he can pass a fitness test on the hamstring injury he picked up while playing County cricket in England.
All-rounder Jason Holder will be rested for all matches against Bangladesh, while batter Tagernarine Chanderpaul and pacer Shermon Lewis remain in the Test squad as reserves.
Lead selector Desmond Haynes is looking forward to seeing some new faces in the opening Test and believes all three players will acquit themselves well if selected.
"Devon Thomas has been knocking on the door for quite some time. He has done extremely well in our franchise cricket system and we view this as a good opportunity to give him a go," Haynes said.
"You would notice that Raymon Reifer is also in the squad. He is another person that has done impressively well in the four-day competition and against England (earlier this year). So again, we are giving opportunities to guys who are performing.
"We think Gudakesh Motie is one of those guys who is also bowling well, and we think it will be a good opportunity for him to be involved."
West Indies currently sit in sixth place on the World Test Championship standings and badly need to pick up some points against Bangladesh at home to have any chance of featuring in next year's final.
"We are looking to pick up World Test Championship points against Bangladesh which will be very important," Haynes noted.
"It would be good for us to use our home advantage to win both Test matches and collect those points."
**West Indies squad:**Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas. Reserves: Tagernarine Chanderpaul, Shermon Lewis
Bangladesh tour of West Indies
June 16-20: First Test – Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
June 24-28: Second Test – Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia
July 2: First T20I – Windsor Park, Dominica
July 3: Second T20I – Windsor Park, Dominica
July 7: Third T20I – Guyana Stadium, Guyana
July 10: First ODI – Guyana Stadium, Guyana
July 13: Second ODI – Guyana Stadium, Guyana
July 16: Third ODI – Guyana Stadium, Guyana