Windies coach clears air on Carlos Brathwaite's omission for Pak ODI series

With people questioning Carlos Brathwaite's axing from the West Indies squad for the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan, head coach Stuart Law has said the decision was taken to allow the all-rounder to work on his fitness and bowling.

"From [those who played] the series against England, Carlos Brathwaite has been left out. I thought the opportunity was there for Carlos to go away and work on a few aspects of his game, namely his fitness and bowling, and getting back to bowling how he wants to bowl," ESPNcricinfo quoted Law as saying.

"That's why he's been left out, and it's just coincided that the IPL is there and we have no cricket after this IPL series and he hasn't been part of the last Test series. So the selectors gave him the option of going to the IPL as well, which I think is a good thing. [He'll] get to talk to guys like [Delhi Daredevils coach] Rahul Dravid, learn how to play spin, get plenty of practice, and work on his fitness and bowling," he added.

Kraigg and Carlos have been dropped from the 13-man squad for the three-match ODI series against Pakistan, beginning on April 7 at the Providence Stadium.

Earlier, there were reports which seemed to suggest that Carlos had chosen to go to India to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) rather than play in the ODI series.

However, the 28-year-old today took to Twitter to clear the air, saying, "Just to clear up a obvious misunderstanding, I was omitted from the ODI squad, hence my early arrival for IPL. All the best to ODI team."

The West Indies ODI squad is as follows:

Jason Holder (captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jonathan Carter, Miguel Cummins, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Kieran Powell, Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton.