Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph to return home early from ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2023

Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph are expected to be part of West Indies' squad for 1st test against India starting 12th July.

As most of the West Indies red-ball squad started their preparation at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua, two of their star players Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph are set to join the camp earlier than expected. All-rounder Jason Holder and Pace bowler Alzarri Joseph will leave the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier early in Zimbabwe to join the West Indies camp in Antigua.

West Indies are knocked out of the tournament after their crushing defeat against Scotland, Netherlands, and Zimbabwe. This will be the first time in the history of Cricket that the World Cup will be played without West Indies. The West Indies won the tournament twice in 1975 and 1979. 

West Indies cricket’s chief selector Desmond Haynes in a statement said, “We have a full schedule for the upcoming series against India, where we begin the new ICC World Test Championship cycle, then followed by the ODIs and the five T20s. Therefore, we had a dialogue, and it was felt the best move at this time is to have two of our leading bowlers return early from Zimbabwe. Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph are two of our leading bowlers in all formats”. West Indies have two of their Qualifiers game remaining before they end their campaign officially. They will play Oman on Wednesday and then Sri Lanka on Friday. 

Opener Kraigg Brathwaite will be leading the West Indian test squad against India in two-match series. This will mark the official start of both of the team's World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle campaigns. India’s tour of the West Indies is set to begin on 12th July, with the first test at Windsor Park in Dominica. The second test will be played at Queens Park Oval in Trinidad & Tobago from 20th July. India’s tour will end on the 13th August.