Ramdin shocked over decision to exclude him from Test side

St. John’s (Antigua), July 9 (IANS) West Indies wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin has expressed shock over the selection committee's decision to exclude him from the Test side which is set to face India in a four-match series.

The former Windies skipper said in a tweet on Wednesday that he had been told by the chairman of selectors, Courtney Browne, that his batting average was not good enough for him to make the cut.

"The chairman (Browne) called me and he explained to me I would no longer be in the four Test series coming up against India. He said over the past five six years my averages haven't been where they should be as a Test player so they need someone else to fill that position and do well for the West Indies," Ramdin said in an interview on a local radio station on Friday.

"I'm pretty disappointed with it; any player would be disappointed. That was said to me that I have to get back in the four-day regional set up and score runs again," he said.

With a career average of 25.87, Ramdin has amassed 2898 runs from 74 games.

"It seems like I'm not a senior player who has done well over the years. But I've been down that road before and come back and done very well so I think the process is easy," he said.

Ramdin was also stripped of the captaincy following a home series loss to Australia last year.

"I haven’t felt any pressure for the last three or four years. It was quite a surprise to me. I felt a bit surprised but I have no choice but to live by the decision of the higher authority. I don't own cricket and well I have to go back to my game in the regional four day set up and come again," he said.

The 31-year-old also failed to get a contract with a Caribbean Premier League team because of contractual obligations with the West Indies cricket board.

"My name was in the draft. I was called by Barbados Tridents and I was told after that I can not because we have Test matches coming up. I was told we were not allowed to get into the draft. I was stopped and if that was in their plans they could have given me the opportunity to go ahead and play my CPL and earn some cash," he said.

"Now I'm losing out on both sides. What happens to Denesh Ramdin," he added.