Yannic Cariah, uncapped in T20Is, is a shock inclusion ahead of Hayden Walsh. Raymon Reifer is rewarded for his fine Caribbean Premier League form
West Indies have left out Andre Russell and Fabian Allen from their men's T20 World Cup squad, but there is a return for Evin Lewis.
Opener Lewis played the most recent of his 50 T20Is in last year's tournament in the United Arab Emirates and has been on the fringes ever since.
He is not the only surprising selection, with Trinidad legspinner Yannic Cariah - who made his international debut against New Zealand, but has only played four senior T20s - included ahead of Hayden Walsh.
Raymon Reifer, who has played three Tests and four ODIs for the Windies but is yet to play T20I cricket, is rewarded for some eye-catching performances in the Caribbean Premier League for Jamaica Tallawahs.
West Indies men's T20 World Cup squad
Nicholas Pooran (C), Rovman Powell, Yannic Cariah, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Raymon Reifer, Odean Smith
Cricket West Indies chief selector Desmond Haynes says the team have decided to "move on" from the era of Russell and explained that the freshly-available Allen was omitted for the in-form Akeal Hosein.
Mystery spinner Sunil Narine was contacted by captain Nicholas Pooran but Haynes confirmed "I'm not too sure he wants to play".
Haynes added: "We have selected a mixture of youth and experience to represent the West Indies.
"In the selection process, we have been cognizant of the ongoing CPL and we have been looking at the players who have been playing very well. I said at the beginning of my tenure that I would be interested in giving players the opportunity and I think I have been consistent in doing that.
Evin Lewis is back in the fold (INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
"I believe it is a very good team we have selected, and it is a team that will compete, given that we have to qualify from round one into the Super12s.
"There are players who did not make the team and I hope they will continue to work hard and perform to their best in the CPL and the upcoming CG United Super50 Cup; because you never know what can happen in case of injuries or any other unforeseen situations where we might need to call up players as replacements."
The 2012 and 2016 champions must go through the preliminary round to reach the Super 12. They start their campaign against Scotland on October 17 and have also been drawn with Ireland and Zimbabwe in Group B. The top two progress.