Cricket West Indies has announced two different One Day International (ODI) squads in recent times, in both of which 33-year-old leg-spinner Devandra Bishoo was omitted.
Devendra Bishoo
The team that will tour Ireland from May 5 to May 17 includes Ashley Nurse, Fabian Allen and Roston Chase as the spin-bowling options; and the World Cup squad to England has two spin-bowling options in Nurse and Allen.
Guyanese leg-spinner Bishoo has played in the ODI Series against England, wherein he had the poorest of five-match series. He picked up one wicket bowling 24 overs, and conceding 170 runs at an economy rate of 7.08, with a bowling average of 170.
Fabian Allen
Has the 2019 ODI Series against England been the last for Devandra Bishoo? Clearly, Cricket West Indies (CWI) has shown preference to the off-spinner Ashely Nurse, who has also had an inconsistent run in ODIs. In that same series against England, Barbadian off-spinner Nurse had one wicket in the five-match Series. Nurse bowled 30 overs and conceded 189 runs, with a bowling average of 189.
The 23-year-old slow left-arm orthodox bowler Fabian Allen is the second spinner in the World Cup squad. This lad from Jamaica has played four ODI matches in his blooming career, and is yet to pick up his maiden ODI wicket.
Chairman of Selectors, Robert Haynes, has said that Allen has shown much promise, and is a versatile player in the sense that he offers more with the bat and is an outstanding fielder.
Devandra Bishoo has 42 ODI matches under his belt, with 38 wickets to his name. This player from Albion on the Lower Corentyne Coast in East Berbice has a best bowling figure of 3-30 and a bowling average of 43.89, with a fair economy rate of 4.94.
In an era when leg-spinners are seen as the wicket-taking bowlers, Bishoo has struggled. Rashid Khan, Adil Rashid, Kuldeep Yadav, Imran Tahir and Yuzvendra Cahal are all seen as top leg-spinners or wrist spinners in the world. These bowlers are equipped with variations that the Guyanese lad lacks in his armory.
Speaking of lacking variation, West Indies front-line spinner Ashley Nurse has 45 ODIs under his belt and has 42 wickets. His bowling average is 43.26, with a best bowling figure of 4-62, an economy rate of 5.16, and a strike rate of 50.2.
The 30-year-old Nurse lacks variation in his bowling. He bowls a stock delivery that fails to trouble batsmen in the modern era. Yet, for all his inconsistencies, he still made the cut to the World Cup. Is this because he is a Bajan?
During the press conference wherein the World Cup (WC) squad was announced, the explanation behind Nurse’s selection was unconvincing. It was revealed that Nurse also has the ability to bat, and the conditions in England will suit the faster bowlers, those who exceed 90mph.
Only time will tell whether Nurse and Allen’s WC selection was the right call. The burning question, however, remains: Was Devandra Bishoo’s omission from the ODI squads to Ireland and England the end of his ODI journey?
