ST JOHN'S (Antigua and Barbuda), April 1 West Indies' hopes of lifting the World Twenty20 title on home soil were boosted on Thursday when pace bowler Jerome Taylor and batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan were both named in the 15-man squad.

Taylor and Sarwan missed the recent one-day series win over Zimbabwe through injuries picked up on the tour of Australia.

The team, which is captained by Chris Gayle, are in Group 'D' in the first stage of the April 30-May 16 tournament, along with England and Ireland.

“We are confident our players will deliver on the home stage. If we play as a unit we have a very good chance of winning the tournament,” stated chairman of selectors Clyde Butts.

“We have Chris Gayle at the top of the order and he can be a match-winner. It is also good to have our experienced players in the middle-order — Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan — and this gives us strength in the batting.

“Wavell Hinds has been recalled and he brings a wealth of experience. He is a knowledgeable cricketer and we believe can make a good contribution in the middle-order as well.

“Dwayne Bravo is one of the leading all-rounders in world cricket and he is the key man with bat and ball. We are happy to have Jerome Taylor back in the bowling department and this is a big plus. I also believe Sulieman Benn will play a major role with the ball.”

Squad Chris Gayle (captain), Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Wavell Hinds, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.—AFP