Phil Simmons appointed the head coach of West Indies men\'s cricket team

St John's: Cricket West Indies (CWI) has appointed former West Indies player Phil Simmons as the new head coach of the men's team.

He will remain in charge of the team for a period of four years. The board also announced the appointment of three new selection panels.

Prior to the appointment of new head coach, the board had made it clear that "persons without West Indian heritage need not apply for the post".

"Bringing Phil Simmons back is not just righting a past wrong, but I am confident that CWI has chosen the right man for the job at the right time. I want to also thank the very talented Floyd Reifer for the hard work he put in while he was the interim coach," CWI President Ricky Skerritt said in a statement.

Simmons had served previously for a short period as head coach of the West Indies senior men's team, during which he coached the team to the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup title.

He then served as the head coach of Afghanistan and he helped them qualify for the first time for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Simmons' latest coaching success came last week as he coached the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) side Barbados Tridents to the title win.

"I am happy, after a very robust recruitment process at the appointment of Phil to the role of head coach. I have no doubt that Phil brings the requisite leadership skills and experience needed to drive improvement across our international squads and I look forward to supporting him in the role," CWI's Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams said.

The selection panels are as follows:

WI Men's Panel

Lead Selector: Roger Harper

Selector: Miles Bascombe

WI Women's & Girls' Panel

Lead Selector: Ann Browne-John

Selector: Travis Dowlin

WI Boys' Panel

Talent ID Manager: Robert Haynes

West Indies men's team will take on India in a three-match ODI and three-match T20I series.