West Indies have brought Shai Hope back into their T20I team for the upcoming five-match series against India. Hope was the captain of the ODI team. Last year, Hope’s last match for the West Indies in this style was also against India. But in white-ball games, the 29-year-old’s game has gotten a lot better in the last year or so.
Hope’s hit rate in ODIs so far this year is 96.75, which is pretty good for someone who was thought to be one-dimensional. Since he made his start in 2016, that strike rate has never been higher than 80 in a single calendar year. This shows how far he has come, even though he now bats fourth.
In addition to Hope, fast bowler Oshane Thomas has also been brought back into the T20I team. For the India series, Thomas was just brought back into the ODI group. Shimron Hetmyer, who missed the T20 World Cup in Australia last year, will join the team. Nicholas Pooran, who just hit an amazing century in the first MLC final, will also join the team, which will help the two-time winners.
“The squad is selected with the next ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in mind,” lead Selector Desmond Haynes said. “We are looking at various plans as we try to find the right combinations. As we prepare; we are looking to build a unit which we believe can do the job when we host the global event in just under a year. We have some match-winners in our line-up and we will look to have the right kind of preparation, starting here in Trinidad on Thursday.
“We also have other players who could come into consideration going forward, with the Caribbean Premier League starting next month, others will come into the reckoning.”
All 15 members of the squad led by Rovman Powell will travel to all five matches, according to Cricket West Indies. However, a 13-man squad will be decided for each encounter from which an XI will be selected.
The five-match series begins on August 3, two days after the ODI series concludes. After the first three games, the concluding two matches of the series will be played in Florida, United States, on August 12 and 13.
Squad: Rovman Powell (c), Kyle Mayers (vc), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Obed McCoy, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas.
