West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran has admitted the absence of frontline spinner Gudakesh Motie will be a huge blow for the team ahead of a crucial upcoming One Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand.

The 27-year-old spinner has not played since the first ODI against India where he fractured his thumb while fielding.  As a result, the player missed the second and third matches and the entire T20 series against India and New Zealand.   

With the three matches against New Zealand being the West Indies’ last remaining three fixtures in the ICC ODI Super League, and with the prospect to secure automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC World Cup in India on the line, Pooran would love to have all his best players available.  He has, however, expressed confidence that the team can make do with the available players.

“It’s a blow for us, especially looking at his performances in the Bangladesh series and how well he bowled in that first game against India,” Pooran told members of the media on Tuesday.

“I thought we were starting to get that chemistry between both him and Akeal (Hosein) they are two of the better spinners in the Caribbean but it is what it is,” he added.

“We hope he will recover and soon be available to us but having said that Kevin Sinclair is here, Yannic Cariah has gotten picked and we are backing them to deliver 100 percent.”