Cricket West Indies names squads for India tour, with Kamil Pooran earning first T20I call-up

Shai Hope will captain both sides for three ODIs and five T20Is, while Jason Holder has been rested from the T20 squad.

By SKN Daily StaffTuesday, 22 September 20261 min read

NEW YORK, United States. Cricket West Indies (CWI) has named its squads for three one-day internationals and five Twenty20 internationals against India, to be played across eight cities from September 27 to October 18.

Shai Hope will lead both sides. The ODI squad largely retains the players from the recent home series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

John Campbell returns after recovering from a hamstring injury, while Ackeem Auguste is unavailable after surgery in August and has been replaced by Jewel Andrew.

Shimron Hetmyer will miss the ODIs but is expected to join for the T20 series after an extended recovery following the CPL.

World Cup qualification

The first two ODIs will complete the automatic qualification cycle for the ICC Men's 50-over World Cup, but the West Indies will still have to enter next year's qualifying tournament.

Head coach Daren Sammy stressed the importance of the series. "Playing against the top team in the world presents us with a chance to fine tune and improve our performances as an ODI team," he said.

"The series also creates a valuable platform to assess players who are stepping into important roles for this series with a long-term target of competing in the World Cup in 2027."

New faces in T20 squad

Kamil Pooran earned his first T20I call-up after an impressive CPL season in which he scored 273 runs at a strike rate of 159.64. Quentin Sampson has also been included, while Jason Holder has been rested as the team focuses on developing talent ahead of the 2028 T20 World Cup.

"We are looking to build on the momentum from our series win against Sri Lanka," Sammy said. "The challenge of playing against the World Champions at home will provide valuable preparation."

The T20I squad is: Shai Hope (captain), Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Kamil Pooran, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Romario Shepherd and Shamar Springer.