All rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard will miss T&T's campaign in the upcoming regional T20 series, after they opted to play in the Australian 'Big Bash' tournament, which is being played at the same time. This was confirmed yesterday by chairman of the national selection panel Dudnath Ramkessoon. He said that both players are contacted to play in the Australian 'Big Bash' and they would not line up for T&T, as they bid to make the Champions League for a second time. "Bravo and Pollard are under contract to play in Australia and as such we cannot do anything about it. It is a big blow for T&T but at the same time it presents an opportunity for other players to raise their hands and come forward.
"We have a number of very talented players in T&T and they must back themselves to do well. They must now get rid of any complacency and now stand up and be counted." The decision means that Bravo and Pollard are not eligible for selection on any West Indies T20 team next year. Meanwhile, the national selectors will meet today to narrow the squad of 48 and on Sunday, they will name the 14-man squad to represent T&T at the tournament. "The rain has really presented us with a headache in selecting this team but we have to select the team based on what information we have on the players.
"We were supposed to declare the team to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) by today but that is not possible at this time. We are hoping to get in two matches tomorrow (today), in order to give the new players a chance to address the selectors. "Initially we selected four trial teams to give everyone a chance to address the selectors but now we are faced with a situation that would see us using information from their practice sessions, we will also use their domestic and regional performances to select the team." Weather permitting, two matches will be played today, with one starting at 9.30 am at the NCC and the other at 2.30 pm.
