West Indies captain Kieron Pollard believes Fabian Allen missing out on the T20 World Cup because of injury is a major blow to the West Indies ahead of the campaign to defend the title they won in 2016.

Allen suffered an ankle injury during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and was in a race against time to be fit enough to bring his exciting talent to his very first World Cup. Pollard made that clear during a media session on Friday ahead of the West Indies final practice session ahead of Saturday’s encounter against England.

He's a big miss," Pollard. "Obviously, he was part of our plans throughout the entire home season. He's an exciting player, we know what he can do with the bat in the back end, the way he's electric in the field and of course his bowling. He's done a pretty decent job for us when he's gotten that opportunity, so yes, he's a big miss. It's very, very unfortunate for him, he's a young guy looking forward to playing in his first T20 World Cup, but that's the nature of sports and as a team, it's something we tend to bounce off pretty quickly and not sort of let those things keep us down.”

Notwithstanding Allen’s unavailability, Pollard believes Akeal Hosein is an adequate replacement for the multi-skilled Jamaican.

"We've got an able replacement in Akeal Hosein who has done himself a great deal of good with his performances in the CPL and in international cricket and ODI cricket,” Pollard said.

“Yes, he's young in his career but he takes on the mantle of bowling some difficult overs previously, so let's see what he can give to us and we're looking forward to the performances of all our spinners, bowlers and everyone."