As Cricket West Indies (CWI) prepare for the final stretch of the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC), the squad showing up in Bangladesh will bear little resemblance to the one going into the last leg of the tournament.

The West Indies selectors have made some bold decisions ahead of the two-Test tour that kicks off later this month as they look to manage workloads and plan for the future.

Star fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has been left out of the red-ball leg, while white-ball captain Shai Hope has also opted to take a break.

In their place, the selectors have opened the door for fresh faces, including 23-year-old batting star Kevin Wickham, who has earned his first Test call-up after a stellar domestic campaign.

Managing the Strikers: Joseph and Hope Leave Out West Indies Squad

Joseph, a pacer, was left out after a routine medical check and specialist treatment, CWI said, and reached a consensus that the player needs to stay safe.

The Antigua-born speedster, however, is on standby for the shorter version, but the workload of consecutive Test matches on seaming pitches in subcontinental Bangladesh presented an exaggerated injury risk.

Keemo Paul has been called into the 15-member squad as his cover.

“The medical team has advised that the demands of two consecutive Test matches in Bangladesh, where seam bowlers are under increased workload due to long spells of high-intensity bowling, present a greater risk to their physical well-being than the shorter white-ball formats,” CWI said in a media release.

Meanwhile, Shai Hope has been rested to lead the team ahead of the marquee international matches.

The opener, who has been in the thick of all three formats this year, has a workload and well-being on the anvil as they head into the ODIs World Cup qualifiers next year in February 2027.

If the left-out senior players have been resting a bit too much, then the in-form and fearless Kevin Wickham is here to ensure that his explosive knocks in the West Indies Championship fill in the empty space.

The Barbados-based middle-order batter blasted his way into the spotlight with three successive centuries in the West Indies Championship (105, 153 and 108) before completing a stellar four-day competition with a third-highest score of 393 runs at an astonishing average of 78.60.

Wickham has a brilliant first-class record of 40.88 in 25 innings with a sheaf of six centuries to his name.

Another batsman who is likely to add some fireworks to the lower middle-order is opener John Campbell, who is back in the squad after sitting out the recent home series against Pakistan with a hamstring injury.

WTC: Looking For The Chase

Eighth in the World Test Championship table, the Caribbean side sees this series as a chance to restore its pride and push up the rankings.

Head coach Daren Sammy said the visitors were optimistic about winning the series in Dhaka and Sylhet.

“At the beginning of this World Test Championship cycle we set ourselves targets, and one of them was to finish in the top half of the rankings. A win in this series would take us closer to that goal and playing Bangladesh in their conditions will be a tough challenge,” Sammy said.

The West Indies will kick off their campaign on October 28 and the second Test is scheduled to begin in Sylhet on November 5.

West Indies 15-man Test squad: Roston Chase (C), Jomel Warrican (VC), Joshua Bishop, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Joshua Da Silva (WK), Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo (WK), Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Kevin Wickham.