West Indies chief selector Desmond Haynes has confirmed that Shimron Hetmyer did make himself available for the 2023 ODI World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe but was not picked. He said that the team management wanted to stick to the players who did well in South Africa earlier this year where West Indies drew the ODI series 1-1 and took the T20I series 2-1.

“Yes, Hetmyer was available. He did send through an email or correspondence to Jimmy (Adams), our director of cricket, stating that he was available for the tour,” Haynes told reporters at a virtual press conference.

“What we selectors decided to do was that we’ve just had a new ODI captain in Shai Hope and he was very happy to express his views about the type of camaraderie we had in the team in South Africa.

“We as selectors saw commitment, we saw a real change in our approach to one-day cricket, and we thought it was only fair to stick with these guys.”

Haynes, however, made it clear that “no player was ruled out of selection” for the ODI World Cup in India later this year. “I must say, though, that I just want the public to know that nobody has been ruled out of selection for West Indies. We do not have the depth of players to rule out anybody for selection,” he said.

Hetmyer has scored 253 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of 149.70 for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.