Since his last T20I appearance, Lendl Simmons has appeared in T20 leagues around the world © Pakistan Cricket Board
West Indies batsman Lendl Simmons will miss the World Twenty20 after suffering a back injury. Although the West Indies Cricket Board has not made the news public yet, it is understood that no replacement has been named as the selectors, lead by former captain Clive Lloyd, cannot agree on a unanimous choice.
Dwayne Smith, who won the Man of the Match in the final of the Pakistan Super League after helping Islamabad United take the title last month, remains a favourite.
Simmons is the fourth player from the West Indies squad to be ruled out of the World T20 in India. Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Darren Bravo had earlier withdrawn from the team.
Narine, who had been banned from bowling in internationals in November last year due to a suspect action stated cited “insufficient progress in the rehabilitative work” on his action as the reason for his withdrawal. Pollard had not rehabilitated sufficiently from a knee injury he suffered last November, while Bravo pulled out by stating he wanted to focus on Test cricket.
Simmons was a part of the West Indies squad for the 2009, 2012 and 2014 editions of the World T20, although he did not play a game in 2012 when the side won the tournament. He has played 34 T20Is since his debut in June 2007, scoring 761 runs at an average of 25.36 with four fifties, and his last game in the format was against South Africa in January 2015.
Since his last international appearance, Simmons has played in T20 leagues around the world, including the Indian Premier League, the Caribbean Premier League, the Bangladesh Premier League, the Big Bash League and the inaugural Pakistan Super League. In that period, he has scored 1406 runs in 46 matches at an average of 32.69 with 13 fifties.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo