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A controversy has surfaced in West Indies cricket after fast bowler Alzarri Joseph turned down his selection for the home Test series against Pakistan, beginning in Tarouba on Saturday. While Cricket West Indies (CWI) initially issued a statement declaring that the 29-year-old pacer was unavailable due to personal reasons, head coach Daren Sammy clarified during a press conference in Tarouba that Joseph had actively opted out after being named in the squad.

Daren Sammy's Statement

Expressing his frustration over the situation, Sammy acknowledged the setback while leaving the matter to the board's leadership:

"Yeah, it is a big loss. Mr. Joseph has declined selection. That's the reality of the situation... He was selected. I mean, he's now coming back from injury. And for reasons since, he has declined the selection. That is a decision that is way over my head. I leave that with the directors to come up with whatever solutions where contracted players get to decline selection."

Joseph's absence leaves a notable void in the West Indies pace attack, given his record of 130 wickets across 42 Test matches. In his absence, the fast bowling workload will be managed by Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, and Shamar Joseph, alongside pace all-rounders Justin Greaves and Keemo Paul.

"What I could tell you (is that) we have a bowling line-up that we've seen that could take 20 wickets. That's the first start to winning Test matches," Sammy said when asked if West Indies had the firepower to take on Pakistan.

"We saw it in New Zealand. We saw it in the Australia series. We matched Australia with the ball. We matched New Zealand with the ball as well. And the confidence and the work that the batters have put in, you could see it bearing fruit in the Test series against Sri Lanka.

"You know, much more consistency is coming through. So once we match these two batsmen scoring runs, we know we have the bowling line-up to take 20 wickets and help us win Test matches," Sammy said.

Uncapped left-arm spinner Joshua Bishop has earned his maiden Test call-up to reinforce the spin attack alongside Jomel Warrican and captain Roston Chase.