Cricket West Indies name Shai Hope and Rovman Powell as ODI and T20I captains

Nicholas Pooran, who quit as West Indies' white-ball captain following the T20 World Cup last year, will be replaced by Shai Hope and Rovman Powell as the team's captains in ODI and T20I cricket, respectively. During the upcoming tour to South Africa, both Hope and Powell, who had previously served as vice-captains during Pooran's tenure as a captain, will assume leadership in their respective positions.

West Indies will have to win their spot at the ODI World Cup, scheduled to be played in India later this year, via the international qualifiers in Zimbabwe, which is planned for June-July, barring an unlikely sequence of results in the final few Super League matches. They are now ranked eighth on the table, well behind Afghanistan, who are ranked seventh.

In the months building up to the next ICC World Tournaments, each captain will play a significant role in strategy and planning. The ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023 would likely require the West Indies to play in ODI qualifiers, which will take place in Zimbabwe in June. The West Indies and the USA will co-host the next ICC T20 World Cup in June 2024. The two captains shared their thoughts in Cricket West Indies’ official release.

Here’s what Shai Hope said:

“It is a tremendous honour and privilege to be appointed captain of any West Indies team. To lead a team that is of such incredible significance not only to myself and my teammates but to our legion of fans the world over, is something one dreams of as a child. The rich history and legacy that our region and our brand of cricket is so famous and loved for, requires no intricate explanation. I would like to thank CWI for entrusting me with this immense opportunity. To navigate West Indies cricket in the right direction will be my fundamental priority and a task that I shall be unwaveringly committed to. With the support of my team-mates and our dedicated fans, I look forward to a long and fulfilling tenure as captain of the West Indies One-Day International team.”

Here's what Rovman Powell said:

“I’m truly humbled and grateful to be given this amazing opportunity to lead the West Indies. For me, this a huge vote of confidence and I see this as the greatest honour of my career. To be asked to ‘carry the flag’ for the people of the Caribbean, there’s no bigger role in cricket in the region — a job previously held by some of the greatest servants of West Indies cricket. I also want to thank CWI for allowing me to guide the team in the coming years as we set sights on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which we will be jointly hosting with the USA next year. I’m a passionate cricketer who believes in leading from the front and always giving 100 percent.”