'We had considered Hetmyer for selection but the note said he was unavailable' - Desmond Haynes

As the Cricket West Indies announced the squad for the ODI series against the Netherlands and Pakistan, the press release mentioned that Shimron Hetmyer was unavailable due to the birth of his first child.

While Hetmyer has left the Rajasthan Royals' (RR) camp for the same, he promised to join back the franchise soon. But with the southpaw making himself unavailable for the international series, it did not make sense as he will be playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) just before the away tours.

A journalist seeked clarity on this from the West Indies chief selector, Desmond Haynes, who replied that although they considered Hetmyer for selection, he had sent a note, informing about his unavailability.

"We got a note or email from Hetmyer saying he is unavailable for selection because obviously with the birth of his child, that is all the information we received. So we acted that way. We had considered him for selection but the note said he was unavailable," Haynes said in a virtual press conference on Monday (May 9).

"I think what is important in all of this is for everyone to understand that we are reaching out to these players. As selectors we want to get the guys involved in West Indies cricket, we want to get results for West Indies cricket and we want West Indies cricket to be improving and we want people to be committed to West Indies cricket," he added.

On May 8, Rajasthan Royals shared a video on their social media accounts that had a message from Hetmyer.

"My stuff is still left in the room, it is only because of a special emergency that I am leaving, don’t miss me too much, see you soon," the 25-year-old said in the video.