Shai Hope has been dropped from the West Indies Test squad for their New Zealand tour, while Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer make comebacks.

Allrounder Keemo Paul also returned to the Test squad, while Andre Fletcher got a call-up for the T20I side after a gap of two years.

Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis, meanwhile, were unavailable for the selection. Cricket West Indies said it “respected their decision” while stating it would not impact future selections. No official reason was given for their unavailability.

Kyle Mayers, the 28-year-old seam-bowling allrounder, earned a maiden T20I call-up. Kieron Pollard will captain the T20I side with CWI saying this series “will form part of the overall planning towards defending the ICC World T20 title”.

Hope’s form has been a concern for a while now, the batsman has managed just one half-century in his last 13 Tests. Following the squad announcements, lead selector Roger Harper said: “Shai is a player who I think has a tremendous future in Test cricket but at the moment he needs to reorganise his Test match game and get his batting in the longest version, back to its best.

“The return of Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul will bolster the team. I expect that Darren will solidify the top order, hopefully making it more productive, while Shimron gives the squad more options in the middle order. Keemo provides another wicket-taking seam option. The Test team has an opportunity to put into practice the learnings from the tour of England earlier this year. The team has good all-round depth and I expect them be very competitive. New Zealand is a very good team especially in New Zealand, so we need to be on the top of our game.”

West Indies will play three T20Is and two Tests, the latter part of the World Test Championship, in New Zealand from November 27 to December 15. They will arrive in New Zealand at least two weeks prior to undergo quarantine, required under the country’s regulations by all visitors arriving from overseas. There are currently no active cases of Covid-19 outside of the established quarantine centres, and ESPNcricinfo understands New Zealand aim to have some level of crowd participation over the course of their home summer.

West Indies Test squad: Jason Holder (capt), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach

T20I squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams