West Indies Enter T20 World Cup With Mixed Form And Key Player Absence

A solid-looking West Indies unit would be heading into the T20 World Cup with more failures than success behind them leading upto the marquee tournament and without perhaps their best T20I batter ever, Nicholas Pooran, who announced a shock retirement from international cricket last year. The two-time champions have dropped more matches than they have won since the Super Eight exit in the last edition back in 2024, but head into the new edition with plenty of positives, especially the evolution of their skipper, Shai Hope as a well-rounded T20 batsman. The Windies often displayed glimpses of that fighting spirit and ferocious hitting which had once made them a dominant force in the shortest format of the game, though they often lost matches by narrow margins.

Team's record after the T20 World Cup 2024:

Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, the West Indies have won just 14 of 43 matches, losing 27 and two ending in no result.

Coming to a series-wise breakdown, they played in a total of 12 bilateral series heading into the tournament, winning just two, one at home and one in Bangladesh.

Here is a series-wise breakdown of the West Indies' form: 3-0 win against SA at home (August 2024), 1-2 loss to SL away from home (October 2024), 1-3 loss to England at home (November 2024), 0-3 loss to Bangladesh at home (December 2024), 0-3 loss to England away from home (June 2025), One off T20I win at home against Ireland away from home (June 2025), 0-5 loss to Australia at home (July 2025), 1-2 to loss to Nepal in UAE (September 2025), 3-0 win at Bangladesh away from home (October 2025), 1-3 loss to NZ at home (November 2025), 1-2 loss to Afghanistan at UAE (Jan 2026) and 1-2 loss to SA away from home (Jan 2026).

Top performers for West Indies since last T20 World Cup:

*Shai Hope: 839 runs in 29 matches and innings at an average of 34.95 and a strike rate of 142.68, including a century and six fifties.

*Rovman Powell: 698 runs in 32 matches and innings at an average of 26.84 and a strike rate of 135.27, with three fifties.

*Shimron Hetmyer: 443 runs in 18 matches and 17 innings at an average of 29.53 and a strike rate of 180.81, including two fifties.

*Romario Shepherd: 463 runs in 34 matches and 28 innings at an average of 25.72 and a strike rate of 143.34, best score of 49. 35 wickets at an average of 27.08, with the best score of 3/15, are a valuable bonus, highlighting his all-round skill.

*Akael Hosein: 38 wickets in 33 matches at an average of 22.13 with a four-fer.

*Jason Holder: 32 wickets in 28 matches at an average of 25.28, with two four-fers and 256 runs in 19 innings at an average of 18.28 and a SR of over 147.

Positives for West Indies:

*Hope's evolution as a T20I batter: Hope always found him name amongst the most underrated ODI batters in the day and age when Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Joe Root, among many, stole the spotlight due to their sheer star power and their respective team's massive stature inthe modern game. His evolution as a T20I batter is something WI will be proud of. From 2017-22, he scored just 304 runs at an average of 17.88 and a strike rate of 121.12 in 19 matches with just two fifties. But since 2023 onwards, he has found a new gear and consistency, scoring 1,151 runs in 41 T20Is at an average of 34.88 and a strike rate of 143.88, with a century and seven fifties.

*Recent form of Sherfane Rutherford: The 27-year-old is a vital cog of the Windies middle order and finished the recently-concluded season of SA20 with 334 runs in 11 matches and 10 innings at an average of 66.80 and a strike rate of 165.80, with two fifties. He and Hope will be crucial for the West Indies side.

*Exposure to franchise cricket: Nearly every player in the Windies squad heads into the tournament with plenty of games under their belt, not restricted to just international cricket. WI cricketers are a highly sought-after commodity in the franchise cricket market, and the massive amount of franchise cricket participation makes them a lot more match-ready.

Negatives for the West Indies:

*No Nicholas Pooran: Pooran is the Windies' top-run-getter in T20Is, with 2,275 runs in 106 matches at an average of 26.14 and a strike rate of 136.39, with 13 fifties, but is no longer with the team following his shock retirement last year. The fireworks from Windies' batting line-up might not be as extravagant without this flashy left-hander.

*Poor batting average: WI has a poor collective batting average of 21.62 (overall) and 22.4 (top seven) which they need to work on.

*Roston Chase's poor form: The veteran all-rounder is short both on runs and wickets, with just 403 runs in 24 innings at an average of 19.19 and a disappointing strike rate of 115.8, scoring just two fifties. With 16 wickets at an average of 41.06 and an economy rate of 8.38, he is just as off-colour.

Only Akael looks solid in the spin department: Akael's numbers are single-handedly carrying the spin department, with Roston and Gudakesh Motie (18 wickets in 29 matches at an average of 40.55 and best figures of 3/17) not enjoying the best run with the ball.

WI is in Group C with defending champions England, Nepal, Scotland, and Italy and will start their campaign against Scotland on February 7 in Kolkata.

West Indies T20 World Cup squad: Shai Hope (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd.

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Topics mentioned in this article

West Indies Cricket Team Nicholas Pooran T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket