INJURY AND illness to all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Ian Bradshaw left the beleaguered West Indies team in a quandary on the eve of the opening Digicel Test against Pakistan at Kensington Oval, starting today. The 21-year-old Bravo, who made a maiden century in the high-scoring drawn fourth and final Test against South Africa in Antigua just under month ago when a world record eight hundreds were scored, missed practice yesterday for the second straight day because of an injury to the left ankle. It was sustained in St. Lucia last Sunday at the end of the three-match one-day international (ODI) series that was swept by the Pakistanis. SHORTENED SESSION Left-arm seamer Bradshaw, 30, no doubt anxious to make his Test debut before his home crowd after playing in 30 ODIs, was limited to a shortened session yesterday because of a viral infection. West Indies team coach Bennett King said a final decision on the pair would not be made until this morning. "At this stage we want to see how Dwayne comes up in the morning. We haven't got a lot of choices in terms of all-rounders that we can slot into his position but we are exploring options in terms of what we believe will be the best make-up of the side," King said at a press conference at the 3Ws Oval, Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies. "There is a possibility that someone new could come into the squad and there is a possibility that we could go in with four fast bowlers." Asked about the likelihood of Bravo playing as a specialist batsman only, King said: "I don't want to pre-empt anything but he is doubtful at this stage and that is as much information that I can give you at this point in time." Australian King gave an assessment of Bradshaw, who is one of five pacers ­ the others are Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Reon King and Daren Powell ­ in the 13-man squad. "He has a little bit of viral infection. He went to the doctor yesterday (Tuesday) but it was just precautionary for him sitting out today (Wednesday) and we will make a decision on him tomorrow," King said. SELECTORS IN CONTROL Pressed about the possibility of an additional player being drafted into the squad, King responded: "Maybe if we need to. That is something the selectors will decide over the next couple hours or so." Despite West Indies losing 2-0 in the Test series against South Africa, followed by a 5-0 drubbing in the ODI series and the wipeout against the Pakistanis, King remained positive that the Shivnarine Chanderpaul-led side could turn its fortunes around. "We are putting ourselves in positions where we can still win matches. We've got to make sure that we keep doing that. I felt that in two of the Test matches against South Africa we didn't do it and we were right out of those games," King asserted. "We have to make sure that we stay in games as long as we can and hopefully come out on the other side and get some wins on the board. But we've got to make sure our recipe and the all the basics of what we do is right." West Indies have never been beaten in five Tests against Pakistan at Kensington, while winning twice in 1988 and 1993. When reminded of that record, King said: "Every Test match has a lot of significance and history does play a large part. We certainly don't forget it but we can't keep living in the past." King said he was not concerned over remarks by Pakistan team manager Saleem Altaf that West Indies did not possess "the real firepower". Instead, his main concern centred around gifted 24-year-old leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, who has 121 wickets at 29.79 runs apiece in 26 Tests. "I guess if they want to underestimate us, that's their choice but certainly we have been working hard," King said. "I know the one-day games are different to the Test matches but certainly we got through their order at various times. "One of the things that we haven't discounted is the effect of Kaneria. He has a lot threats for us and we are very cognisant of that." Pakistan team coach Bob Woolmer said he wouldn't take West Indies for granted, especially with the world's top batsman Brian Lara returning to the side after resting for the ODI series against the Pakistanis. "Every Test match starts 50-50. I don't care who it is against, whether it's Australia, West Indies or even Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. You've got to go into a Test match thinking that way. The whole point of the game is that you start equal," said Woolmer, a former England batsman. "I have watched Brian Lara as coach of Warwickshire score 500 runs (in an innings) and he got 2,000-odd runs in the season. "He is a very fine player and he can take the game away from you. We will bowl the lines and lengths that we hope are necessary to make batting difficult for the West Indies," Woolmer said. Pakistan will be without captain and leading batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, who is serving a one-Test ban for showing dissent against India in Bangalore, as well as all-rounder Shoaib Malik, who is also on a one-Test ban for allegedly throwing a domestic match. Experienced batsman Younis Khan will lead the side. Bazid Khan, who made a solid 66 in the final ODI against West Indies, is expected to make his debut. If chosen, he will follow a rich family tradition. His grandfather Jahingir Khan played four Tests for India in the 1930s and his father Majid Khan represented Pakistan in 63 Tests including the 1977 match at Kensington. Teams (from): West Indies ­ Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Wavell Hinds, Dwayne Bravo, Courtney Browne, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Reon King, Daren Powell. Pakistan ­ Younis Khan (captain), Yasir Hameed, Salman Butt, Yousuf Youhana, Bazid Khan, Sahahid Afridi, Asim Kamal, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Danish Kaneria, Shabbir Ahmed, Arshad Khan. Reprinted from jamaica-gleaner.com