“Nobody (of the pair) has got exceptional performances as far as (playing for) West Indies is concerned”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
West Indies chief selector Clive Lloyd has admitted that “it was a very difficult decision” to not include all-rounders Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo in the World Cup squad.
Lloyd noted that Pollard and Bravo were dropped since they have failed to produce any “exceptional performances” as of late.
“It was a very difficult decision. I can tell you it went on for two days. We suspended it to give a chance to think about things and so on. There were a lot of discussions,” Lloyd told ESPNcricinfo in an exclusive interview. “But then you get to a point where you say, right, this is where we want to go. It is very difficult for people to understand or to accept. But we want to move on.
“I don’t think they have had any exceptional performances. Nobody (of the pair) has got exceptional performances as far as (playing for) West Indies is concerned. They have been there and thereabouts. We really and truly want to pick people on what they have done for our cricket and not for anyone else.”
Lloyd also revealed that he spoke to Pollard and Bravo in Cape Town last week.
“Yes, I spoke to them in Cape Town,” he said. “They understand what the situation is. Don’t forget, these guys have been playing for West Indies for a while. And they will be disappointed. But they have a chance of redeeming themselves and getting back into our cricket in the future. One is 31 (Bravo) and the other is 27 or 28 (Pollard).”
Lloyd also refused to lash out at opening batsman Chris Gayle for his scathing remarks about the national selectors’ decision to snub Pollard and Bravo.
“He (Gayle) might think so, but the point is that he is not a selector. He is a player,” Lloyd said. “I have the greatest respect for him. But he will have to read what we are trying to do. He is part of that team that is going forward. Once he has been told what the situation is he will understand what we are doing.”
Lloyd also insisted that there had been no discrimination when it came to selecting the World Cup squad. He backed up his point by adding that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) wouldn’t have given Bravo a central contract if they thought he had no talent.
“No, no. That is not the way I live. I don’t believe in things in that nature at all,” he said. “There is no axe to grind with these guys. There are other people that could have…You know we could have said, “What about X, what about Y?
“This is the combination we came up with. And I am not one of those people who are going to direct to me what to do. I take orders from me, and nobody else. I am not into that situation where I will be worrying about what happened in India. That is past. That is gone. We are moving on.
“Doesn’t that tell you about something? He has been given a central contract. So that means he is not thrown out. That is what we should be talking about. We want people to feel they are still part of our cricket.”