Will the West Indies launch their powerful attack against the Indian team which is reeling at the moment? The question was posed to Shai Hope during the press conference right after Zimbabwe’s win and the Windies skipper decided to keep everyone guessing.
The question was raised after Roston Chase was missing from the playing eleven in the win over Zimbabwe at the Wankhede Stadium as Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie ran through the line-up and picked up a total of seven wickets between them. In fact, Motie, Hosein and Chase combined to give West Indies 19 wickets during the tournament.
India’s fight against spinoff-spin in particular, has been exposed in all their matches so far, with Aryan Dutt, Salman Ali Agha and Aiden Markram enjoying first-match success against the Indian batsmen. Saim Ayub and Gerhard Erasmus took three and four wickets respectively during the matches against India.
The rest of the spinners have not allowed India’s star-spinner to get off to explosive starts, with Keshav Maharaj taking three wickets in the recent loss to South Africa. In an interview with reporters, Hope was asked if Chase was being kept under wraps for the clash with India, and Hope chose to remain coy upon her return.
“I’ll have to wait and see who knows,” Hope said.
When pressed further, the Windies skipper told everyone to stay tuned for the match against India in Kolkata on March 1, which could turn out to be do-or-die for both the teams.
“Like I said, when I pitch and give my team, then we all know who’s playing that day – so stay tuned,” Hope said.
‘PLAY OUR BEST CRICKET’
West Indies remained unbeaten in the ongoing tournament along with South Africa, posting 254 against Zimbabwe, the second highest score in the T20 World Cup. The Windies captain said his team is not chasing records but only trying to improve by playing its best cricket.
“Next we have South Africa and then India. So we have to continue to play our best cricket. If we can keep improving, keep improving. If we’re doing well, keep doing it,” Hope said.
West Indies will face South Africa in their next Group 8 match in Ahmedabad on Thursday, February 26.
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Published on:
February 24, 2026
