Star batter Nicholas Pooran retired from international cricket in June 2025, just eight months prior to the T20 World Cup. His shocking decision surprised everyone, given his scintillating form and most importantly, his recent experience of playing in India. He's a force to reckon with in the shortest format, having scored 524 runs in 14 matches in IPL 2025, at a blistering strike rate of 196.25.
Leading up to the T20 World Cup 2026, reports surfaced that the team management had reached out to Pooran and other senior cricketers such as Andre Russell and Sunil Narine to reconsider their retirement for the marquee event, but that didn't materialise.
Notably, Shimron Hetmyer was slotted at number three in Pooran's absence. The 29-year-old has done a spectacular job in his new role, having scored 221 runs in six matches, at a strike rate of 182.64. He is currently West Indies' leading run-scorer in the competition and will be hoping to keep up with the momentum to beat India and qualify for the semi-final.
India opt to field first
India have opted to field first after winning the toss. West Indies, on the other hand, made one change after a defeat to South Africa. Brandon King missed out as Akeal Hosein replaced him in the playing XI. In the meantime, Shai Hopes spoke on the magnitude of the game, saying that the players are looking forward to it.
“Like I said, it’s a do or die game today. And the guys are up for it. Like I said, this is what you play for. You come to play against big teams, best teams and in moments like this. So it’s another big game. We know what we need to do to win this one. So we’re looking forward to it. We’ve got one change. So Akeal Hosein comes back and Brandon King misses out today,” Hope said.
West Indies (Playing XI): Shai Hope (wk/c), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Also Read:
