West Indies' turbulent ride reaches pitstop of past glory

Snapshot

Long viewed as their most preferred format, West Indies have had a bumpy ride in T20Is since the last edition of the World Cup which they co-hosted with USA. They lost Nicholas Pooran and Andre Russell to retirement besides embracing a captaincy switch that saw Shai Hope take over the reins in this period. But while the two-time champions have shown signs of being competitive in their most recent endeavours, a lot has to go right if they are to lift a third Men's T20 World Cup crown in the subcontinent.

The squad, and what it tells us

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

Twelve of the fifteen players picked for this edition of the T20 World Cup were also part of the initial squad for the 2024 edition with two of them - King and Holder - eventually being replaced at different stages back then due to injury. Despite a torrid 2025 in the format, there is a fair bit of continuity and experience to fall back upon for West Indies. Batter Quentin Sampson is the one greenhorn in the squad, although skipper Hope has dubbed him "one of the cleaner ball strikers that I've seen in a long time".

As is often the case with a West Indian T20 outfit, this side too is packed with six-hitters aplenty, although cohesion and adapting to sluggish surfaces in the second half of the tournament remains a big question mark. The bowling unit arguably lacks teeth, however, evidenced by South Africa razing down a target of 222 in 17.3 overs in Centurion in the build-up to the tournament. Jason Holder's stellar 2025 with the ball must inevitably spill over into the marquee event, while for a second World Cup running, the lack of a wrist-spinner sticks out like a sore thumb.

The road to the World Cup

Having won just 14 out of 43 matches in the format since the last T20 World Cup, West Indies' current ICC ranking of seven does appear pretty generous. Success against the big teams has been hard to come by, while they also hit the nadir in having dropped a series to Nepal, albeit with several first-choice players missing. A 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in their own backyard last October offers promise and hope from the standpoint of adapting to conditions in the subcontinent, even as the surfaces in India are expected to play out a lot better for the majority of the tournament at least.

Last five T20Is: L-W-L-L-W (latest)

The way they play

West Indies carry a reputation for being a six-hitting team. But they also carry a dubious one for playing out far too many dot balls - among all full-member teams taking part in the upcoming World Cup, they boast of the worst dot ball percentage in T20Is (42.5) in this cycle. A six or bust strategy will not win them the World Cup and how they dovetail strike rotation with the big hits, particularly against their Achilles' heel, spin, will define their campaign. Their numbers against spin don't make for great reading either, as an average of 18.71 and a strike-rate of 126.71 this cycle - again the worst among all full-member participants at this World Cup - suggests.

The recent form of Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford augurs well for the team, but the duo have a tendency to go off the boil rather inexplicably - a factor that sums up West Indies' tryst with inconsistency. Their bowling could err on the side of tidy than thrilling, although there is a big if over how tidy they can actually be.

Who can bend a match in 10 balls

Sherfane Rutherford could not have chosen a more opportune time to hit his best form, smashing 26 sixes in the SA20 for eventual runners-up Pretoria Capitals. He duly carried that form into the series against South Africa where he smashed an unbeaten 24-ball 57 in the aforementioned Centurion run-fest. The southpaw is just as adept against spin as he is against pace and his effortless six-hitting ability could swing games West Indies' way as he assumes a critical middle-order role.

All-rounders are worth their weight in gold and perhaps nobody has enhanced his reputation to the extent that Romario Shepherd has over the last year. No boundary rope in the world is long enough for the burly Guyanese all-rounder, while he has grown in stature with the ball across phases with an uncanny knack for breaking partnerships. His returns must be evaluated by impact over volume and in a post-Andre Russell era, Shepherd could carry West Indies' hopes in this T20 World Cup.

Scheduling

West Indies play their group fixtures at two venues they have fond memories of, having recorded famous wins in the semifinal and final of the 2016 T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium and the Eden Gardens. They will be in action on the opening day against Scotland before flying out to Mumbai for their next two matches including the marquee fixture against England, which is their only evening fixture in the group stage. They wind up their group games against Italy in Kolkata, where they could potentially face India in the Super Eights as per the pre-tournament seedings, should they proceed to that round.

Banana-peel fixture

It's not a stretch to suggest that just about any fixture could prove to be a slippery banana-peel for a team as mercurial as West Indies. While they were hammered by Scotland in the 2022 T20 World Cup, the scars of their 2-1 defeat to Nepal in September could surface in their February 15 clash, particularly against the assortment of spinners expected to line up against them.

What a good World Cup looks like

West Indies have had a dream run in subcontinent T20 World Cups, although they won't be able to call upon their OGs from those editions. Having crashed out in the group stages in 2022 and come within one win of making the semifinals in 2024, they would want to cross that hurdle this time around to truly establish the change of guard. Overcoming the likes of India, Australia and South Africa in the Super Eights may appear a far cry, but West Indies can spring a surprise when pushed to the wall. A Super Eight finish ought to be a bare minimum objective, although anything further would mark a solid World Cup campaign.