Former Trinidad and Tobago captain Daren Ganga, along with pacer Shannon Gabriel, spinner Dave Mohammed, and aggressive opener William Perkins will all sit out T&T's Caribbean Twenty20 campaign after being omitted from the defending champions' 14-man team who will travel to Antigua and then Barbados in January.
Replacing the foursome, who were part of T&T's Champions League Twenty20 team this year, are Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, who did not play for the national team in the 2011 Caribbean T20, and opener Justin Guillen, who has not been a regular on the T20 side since his debut in 2008.
West Indies wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin will captain Trinidad and Tobago, who also include six other regional players in Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Bravo, Adrian Barath and recent call-ups, spinner Sunil Narine and batsman Jason Mohammed.
Guillen is the only relative newcomer in the T20 side, having only played two games in the format for the national team during the Stanford Super Series in 2008, when standout performers Dave Mohammed, Rayad Emrit and Pollard were drafted into the Stanford Superstars squad.
About the omission of ex-skipper Ganga and aggressive opener Perkins, Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board chairman of selectors Dudnath Ramkessoon said: "It is unfortunate we could only go with 14 players.
"We had to make a tough decision but we believed those selected were the best players for the positions we had open and I think we did well to come up with a very strong team."
He added: "I think we have players who could deliver with aggression when required, but while being aggressive, we also need players to play according to the plan. I think we struck the right balance and I have no doubt about the ability of the players we have chosen."
Of Guillen's inclusion, Ramkessoon explained that the Queen's Park Cricket Club captain has proven his worth for his club this season when they won all three titles, including the T20, 50-over and two-day crowns.
"We believed it was time we gave him a chance in this version because of how well he has done. He also got some runs in the one trial match we had. Sherwin (Ganga) also got runs and took some wickets. Rayad Emrit has been around the team for a while and he is one of the senior all-rounders so I don't think these players could have been overlooked," Ramkessoon added.
Guillen scored 47 in the trial while Sherwin Ganga hit 48 not out and took two for 12.
Emrit only had one wicket for 18 runs in that match but has been around the national team since his T20 debut in 2006. Since then, the all-rounder has only played 12 T20 matches, taking 17 wickets.
He also made the T&T Champions League T20 team twice, but never played in the tournament.
Ramkessoon is of the opinion that this T&T side is the most experienced and potentially the most lethal team in the tournament.
"It is a well-balanced team of talented young cricketers and this line-up is quite possibly the best on paper, and once they do what we know they are capable of doing, then I have no doubt that we can come out victorious," Ramkessoon insisted.
"We have a lot of all-rounders who are all capable with bat and ball and we have some top-class batsmen at the top of the innings, so we have batting right down to number 11 and that is always good to have in this format of the game.
"All the players have done well for us in the past and I think we have quality all-rounders capable of delivering. It is one of the most experienced teams in the tournament. I think we have a formidable batting line-up and a strong bowling attack," said Ramkessoon.
"We have to go out there and deliver.
"We could have the best team on paper, but we still have to go out there and perform in the middle. Having played in the Champions League T20 in India twice, expectations will be high. The other teams will be coming at us hard so we have to be at the top of our game. We have to be ready.
"It is the performance on the day that will count and once the players perform on the day, then I am confident we can win," Ramkessoon concluded.
T&T T20 Team: Denesh Ramdin (Captain), Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Jason Mohammed, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Kevon Cooper, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Samuel Badree, Sherwin Ganga, Rayad Emrit, Justin Guillen
Omar Khan (Manager), Kelvin Williams (Coach).
By Roger Seepersad
Source: www.trinidadexpress.com