ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) — All-rounder Kavem Hodge has admitted that his call up to the West Indies Test squad for next month’s tour of Bangladesh came as a surprise.

The 27-year-old, who bowls left-arm spin and bats right-handed, was named as part of a second string 15-man side selected for the two-Test series following an exodus of the senior players due to “COVID-19 related concerns or personal fears”.

“It was very surprising to me as it’s something that I have been looking forward to for a very long time,” Hodge told Dominica News Online here.

“I came close a couple of times but kinda missed the mark, so when I received that call… from the chairman of selectors in the evening of Christmas Eve, I was really elated.”

Hodge averages 28 from 40 first-class games with three hundreds, the last of which came during the recent regional first-class season when he hit exactly 100 not out, en route to compiling 454 runs for the Windward Islands Volcanoes.

The previous season, Hodge stroked 481 runs with five half-centuries for Volcanoes to also catch the selectors’ attention.

Hodge, who featured for West Indies Under-19s at the 2012 ICC Youth World Cup in a squad that also involved current Test openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell, said his success had been as a result he had received throughout his career.

“Even before this point a lot of people have given me a lot of motivation and a lot of inspiration and they keep telling me to keep going despite all the obstacles,” said Hodge.

“But I am very thankful for all the well wishes and I want to thank everyone for their inspiration and everything they have done for me and all the part they have played because I think it is a collective effort that has gotten me to this point.

“There’s no way that I could have done all of this on my own. Yes, I was the one on the field playing the game but you still need support, you still need friends and family through all of this and I want to thank everyone for that.”

Hodge is one of three uncapped players named in the squad which will be led by Brathwaite, with left-handed opener Shayne Moseley and all-rounder Kyle Mayers included.

West Indies, who are set to arrive in Bangladesh on January 10, face Bangladesh in the first Test starting February 3 in Chattogram before moving to the capital Dhaka for the second Test bowling off February 11.