Uncapped Evin Lewis has been named to replace the injured Lendl Simmons in the West Indies squad for the World Twenty20 in India. The experienced Simmons was ruled out of the tournament due to a back injury. "The 24-year-old left-handed batsman will join the team ahead of the start of the global event," the West Indies Cricket Board said in a statement. Lewis has represented Trinidad & Tobago in the Caribbean T20 and the Champions League and impressed chairman of selectors Clive Lloyd, who led West Indies to two 50-over World Cup triumphs. "Evin Lewis a young and exciting batsman who we believe will fit into the team setup very well. He has the ability to perform at this level of the game," Lloyd said. "His selection is in keeping with our policy to give exposure to young, talented players we believe will help to carry West Indies cricket forward," he added. All-rounder Kieron Pollard was ruled out of the World Twenty20 due to a knee injury, spinner Sunil Narine is still working to fix his illegal bowling and all-rounder Darren Bravo has opted to focus on the longer formats of the game. West Indies, T20 world champion in 2012, arrived in Kolkata Monday after a two-week training camp in the United Arab Emirates. It has warm-up matches against India Thursday, and Australia Sunday. The Caribbean team has been drawn in Group 1 of the Super 10 stage along with England, South Africa, Sri Lanka and one of the first-round qualifiers. Skipper Darren Sammy, meanwhile, Tuesday hailed controversial star batsman Chris Gayle as T20 cricket's most destructive player as he insisted the West Indies' troubled build-up to the World Cup would not undermine its prospects. Gayle was branded a sexist after trying to flirt with an Australian TV presenter live on air in January during the Big Bash League and some Caribbean fans are unhappy he is often unavailable for national duty but then plays in big money Twenty20 tournaments. But in a press conference after his team's arrival in India for the World T20, Sammy said the 36-year-old Jamaican was admired by his teammates for his behavior on and off the field. "Chris is a massive figure for us, not only on the cricket field but off the field as well," Sammy said in Kolkata. "To me he is the best T20 batsman, the most destructive one in this game so he knows his game inside out." Like several other West Indies players, Gayle has become accustomed to playing T20 cricket in Indian conditions after appearing regularly in the IPL over the last decade. Squad: Darren Sammy (captain), Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor. — Agencies
