The West Indies have dropped experienced batting trio Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan for the upcoming one-day cricket internationals against Pakistan.
A statement from the West Indies Cricket Board says the the trio had been left out of the squad for the opening two games in the five match series as part of a policy to encourage the development of younger players.
The move comes after widespread disappointment with the displays from senior players during the recent World Cup, where West Indies again failed to impress.
Nonetheless, the dropping of three former captains who have made up the bulk of the Caribbean runmaking in the past five years is a drastic move.
Jamaican Gayle is 31, Sarwan is 30 and fellow Guyanese Chanderpaul is 36.
Antiguan leg spinner Anthony Martin is the only uncapped player named in the squad for the opening two games against the touring Pakistanis in St Lucia.
Marlon Samuels, the 30-year-old Jamaican batsman, is named in the ODI squad for the first time since serving a two-year international ban for passing on team information to an Indian bookmaker.
Trinidad all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has recovered from the knee injury he sustained in the recent World Cup and returns to the squad -- he will be vice-captain to skipper Darren Sammy.
