Lewis replaces Simmons in Windies’ squad

KINGSTON, Jamaica: West Indies have picked uncapped opening batsman Evin Lewis to replace Lendl Simmons for the World T20 in India. Simmons was ruled out of the tournament last week due to a back injury.

Lewis, 24, has been in good form recently, in domestic matches for Trinidad & Tobago. He scored 221 runs in six matches for T&T in the Nagico Super 50 tournament, including one century and a fifty.

In five matches of the WICB Regional 4-day Tournament, he has scored 442 runs at an average of 49.11, including a century and three fifties. His overall T20 record stands at 1044 runs in 34 innings at an average of 31.63.

Simmons was the fourth player to be ruled out of the West Indies T20 squad, after Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Darren Bravo had also withdrawn from the team. It was speculated that Dwayne Smith, who won the Man-of-the-Match award in the final of the Pakistan Super League, was a favourite to replace Simmons, while Jonathan Carter was also reportedly in contention.

Clive Lloyd, WICB’s chairman of selectors, said Lewis had been picked in keeping with West Indies’ policy to give younger players more exposure. “Evin Lewis is a young and exciting batsman who we believe will fit into the team set-up very well. He has the ability to perform at this level of the game,” Lloyd said.