Shannon Gabriel may play his first Test in more than one year

• Shannon Gabriel could play his first Test in more than a year.
• Spinners Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican were also added to the 15-man squad.
• Andre Coley will serve as interim coach after Phil Simmons’ resignation.

After being called up to the West Indies Test squad for their upcoming trip to Zimbabwe, Shannon Gabriel might play his first Test in more than a year. Spinners Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican will also be eligible again after being added to the 15-man party.

The last time Gabriel, 34, played for the Test team was in Sri Lanka in November 2021. After suffering a hamstring injury, he missed the West Indies’ Test tour of Australia and spent much of last year attempting to get healthy again. He played for Yorkshire in county cricket for a while and finished tied for the tournament’s most wickets.

But with Jayden Seales recovering from knee surgery, Gabriel might join Kemar Roach and Jason Holder in the seam attack for the West Indies.

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Warrican completed his 13 Test matches in Sri Lanka in 2021 as well, and Motie will be able to build on the lone cap he earned against Bangladesh in June of last year. Shannon Brooks, Anderson Phillip, and Marquino Mindley, who all participated in the second Test in Adelaide, have been left the West Indies squad after they sustained several injuries during their 2-0 loss in Australia.

“This is the start of the international calendar for 2023 and we will hope to start with a win,” Desmond Haynes, West Indies’ lead selector, said. “We appreciate it won’t be an easy assignment as Zimbabwe, like most other teams in world cricket, play very well on their home soil on pitches that will support their style of play.

“We looked at the conditions we anticipate playing in, and have included two left-arm spinners who didn’t go to Australia in Motie and Warrican. With our fast bowlers, Seales has done extremely well for us since he started back in 2021, but with him unavailable we have decided that Gabriel would be best able to fill that role. He [Gabriel] is an experienced bowler who has been at the international level for over 10 years and has knowledge of the conditions in Zimbabwe when we won there in 2017.”

Andre Coley will serve as the temporary coach for the two-test series against Zimbabwe, which gets underway on February 4 in Bulawayo. Phil Simmons decided to resign.

West Indies Test squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Tagnarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas, Jomel Warrican

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