Narine To Replace Injured Roach

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Indian Premier League (IPL) star off-spinner Sunil Narine could be set for his Test debut after he was called up to replace injured pacer Kemar Roach on the West Indies current tour of England.

Roach, the 23-year-old Barbadian pacer, has been diagnosed with shin muscle soreness and will return home to recover and start a rehabilitation programme.

"Kemar has been carrying this soreness for the last two matches and in view of our upcoming schedule, we would like him to have the time to recover and prevent the onset of more serious injury," said C.J Clark, the WI team's physio.

West Indies head coach, Ottis Gibson, lamented the loss of Roach.

"We still have an awful lot of cricket to play this year and we did not want to risk losing as valuable a player as Kemar for a long period," said Gibson. "He has been outstanding with the ball for us so far this year and we are all gutted by his departure."

The 24-year-old Narine starred in the just-concluded IPL and was voted Man of the Series for his 24 wickets which helped fire Kolkata Knight Riders to their first-ever title.