St John's, Antigua, Dec 19 (IANS): Cricket West Indies (CWI) has launched a recruitment process for the new men's selection panel in January, the board announced on Saturday. The announcement ends the term of chief selector Roger Harper and his colleague Miles Bascombe, whose contracts will not be renewed when they come to an end on December 31.

CWI also said that till they find new selectors, an interim selection panel has been established.

"An interim selection panel has been established, with Head Coach Phil Simmons at the helm, along with the captains in the respective men's formats. Jimmy Adams, CWI's Director of Cricket, will oversee the process," the CWI said in a statement.

The last few months have been good for the West Indies team. They suffered a whitewash in a T20Is against Pakistan and had also failed to reach the knockouts of the ICC T20 World Cup in UAE.

"We want to thank Roger and Miles for their work and dedicated services to West Indies cricket in the last two years, as members of the Men's Senior Selection Panel. Selecting West Indies teams for the international competition is a very challenging assignment, and both gentlemen performed their roles with transparency and dignity," said Jimmy Adams.

The outgoing chief selector Harper also accepted the decision with grace.

"I would like to thank CWI for the opportunity to serve West Indies cricket in the role of the lead selector and I wish the organisation the very best for the future. I would also like to thank all those whose efforts and cooperation helped me to perform my role efficiently. Special thanks to Miles for his professionalism and teamwork. God bless," he said.

The West Indies men's next series is against Ireland at Sabina Park, Jamaica where they will play the three-match ODI series on January 8, 11, and 14, and the one-off T20I on January 16.