Kieran Powell at a loss about how to get back into Windies squad

Captain of the Leeward Islands Cricket Team, Kieran Powell, has been left disappointed by his non-selection to the provisional 29-man squad for the West Indies tour to England, which looks set to go ahead this summer.

Cricket West Indies announced the squad recently, in lieu of agreements with the England and Wales Cricket Board about a tour that was scheduled for June but has now been postponed amidst plans to make it safe despite the worldwide spread of COVID-19.
The squad had seen the return of pacer Shannon Gabriel, spinner Veerasammy Permaul, and middle-order batsman Jermaine Blackwood. Some new faces have also been added to the squad, like Preston McSween, Paul Palmer, Shane Mosely and Keon Harding.
Having last represented the West Indies on the 2018 Tour to Bangladesh, Powell is a notable absentee from the squad.
Since his exclusion from the West Indies set-up, Powell has scored fairly heavily in regional cricket, a fact that has elicited surprise at his non-selection.
“I haven’t really been as productive as I would like in the four-day format, but I still managed to stand out above everyone else who played in the tournament; so, it’s disheartening for (me) to learn that I hadn’t been selected based on the volume of runs I scored,” Powell has said.
Despite leading the Caribbean in the Regional Super50 competition last year with 524 runs, Powell was not selected for the series against India, Ireland and Sri Lanka. There had been reports that Powell should have been a replacement for Evin Lewis in the Sri Lanka Series. Lewis had failed a fitness test, but reports are suggesting that Powell also had failed the test.
“I don’t mind not being selected; this is part and parcel of being in West Indies Cricket. It has been here long before me, and I’m pretty sure it will be (there) long after (I’m gone); but communication is the most important thing,” Powell said regarding his failure of the fitness test.
According to Powell, he is yet to hear from CWI what aspects of the test he had failed, and what he needed to work on.
“Obviously, there are more factors to it, which is what I am trying to ascertain. What are those standards, so I can work on whatever I need to work on, so I can get my international career back off the ground?” he asked.
While not calling names, or suggesting that this administration — inclusive of coaches and the board — has anything more than the best interest of cricket at heart, Powell did point out that there was a certain stigma that has made his sojourn in West Indies Cricket more difficult.
“I remember a coach of the West Indies team telling me that I don’t need to play for the West Indies team because I (am) financially good, and that I should leave it for people who aren’t financially good; and I didn’t understand,” Powell disclosed.
According to the elegant left-hander, his finances should not be used to militate against him playing for the region. “No one would look at a LeBron James, or a Cristiano Ronaldo and so many others, (and say that) based on all the investments they have, they don’t need to play anymore. Obviously, we know the history of athletes going bankrupt,” he said.
Asked about the exclusion of Kieran Powell, chief of selectors, Roger Harper, said the issue was one based completely on cricket, and that there was no personal feeling toward Powell, one way or the other.
“I don’t know of any problem with Powell. When we picked our squad, we picked what we thought was the best squad for those conditions,” Harper has said.
The West Indies’ tour to England will see them fight to retain the Wisden Trophy they had taken from England last year.