St. John's (Antigua), Feb 19 (IANS/CMC): Big hitting all-rounder Kieron Pollard has been ruled out of the West Indies squad for the ICC World Twenty20.

Pollard continues to recover from a knee injury and has not been included in the 15-man squad released Tuesday for the March 16 to April 6 event in Bangladesh.

Pollard, who injured his knee while playing in a charity football match, had said that he was hoping to recover in time to be available for the World T20. However, his recovery did not prove quick enough to allow him to be considered for selection.

All 13-men named for the Twenty20s against Ireland, starting Wednesday, were included in the World T20 squad along with batsman Johnson Charles and pacer Sheldon Cottrell.

The 24-year-old Cottrell has played one Test against India in Kolkata last year but is yet to make his debut in either of the shorter formats. Charles struggled in the recent limited-overs tour of New Zealand but can be a dangerous player.

West Indies are the reigning World T20 champions after beating hosts Sri Lanka in the final in Colombo in October 2012.

West Indies squad: Darren Sammy (Captain), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith.