Hope, Thomas added to Windies T20I squad

West Indies One-Day International captain Shai Hope and fast bowler Oshane Thomas have been recalled to the maroon’s 15-man provisional T20I squad for the five-match Kuhl Stylish Fans T20I Series against India, which bowls off at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Thursday, from 10:30am.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) senior men’s selection panel announced the squad on Monday. From the group, a 13-member squad will then be selected from which the final 11 players will be selected.

Hope played his last T20I against India in February while Thomas played his last match in this format in Pakistan in December 2021.

CWI lead selector Dr Desmond Haynes said the squad is selected with the next ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in mind.

“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.”

Haynes added there are other players who could come into consideration going forward, with the Caribbean Premier League T20 starting next month, others may step up for potential selection.

After Thursday’s opening T20I, the teams then move to the Guyana National Stadium for the second and third fixtures on Sunday and Tuesday.

The series will climax at the Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida for the final matches on August 12 and 13.

Tickets for the matches are available from box offices at Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain; the National Cricket Centre in Couva, Trinidad and the Guyana Cricket Board headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana.

Additionally, tickets are available online in advance from the Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard at tickets.windiescricket.com .

FULL SQUAD - Rovman Powell (captain), Kyle Mayers (vice-captain), 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