The two-time T20 World Cup champions West Indies announced a power-packed squad for the 2024 edition of the tournament. The last few years have been disappointing for the Windies as they have missed qualification to last year’s ODI World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
But this time after sealing direct qualification as the co-hosts, West Indies could emerge as dark horse contenders for the T20 World Cup 2024.
So ahead of the tournament, let’s look at how the Windies could line up.
West Indies’ Probable Playing XI for T20 World Cup 2024
Openers: Johnson Charles, Brandon King
Kicking things off with the bat for the West Indies will be the experienced pair of Johnson Charles and Brandon King. The duo have opened the innings for the Windies for some time now and bring a great mix of power and control. Charles and King have decent strike rates hence the Windies will hope they give the side some flying starts.
Middle-order: Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell (c)
After the openers, let’s move to West Indies’ biggest strength, their incredible middle-order. In At three will be the prolific Shai Hope, who will be looking to control the innings alongside Roston Chase. After Hope and Chase, Nicholas Pooran and captain Rovman Powell would bat and be the important pair of the Windies. This pair has consistently scored runs at an incredible clip around the world and hence will have a lot of responsibility.
Lower-order: Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein
Continuing this explosive batting lineup, West Indies could field the trio of Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein, who can score runs faster than anyone and give Powell close to 10 overs with the ball.
Russell, in the twilight of his career, would look to add a third T20 World Cup to his name while Shepherd and Hosein will aim to establish themselves as global T20 superstars.
Bowlers: Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph
Rounding off the XI, veteran star Jason Holder and vice-captain Alzarri Joseph will be strike bowlers for West Indies.
Holder, also in the fag end of his career, will look to finish with a bang.
Joseph will look to redeem himself after a sub-par performance in the IPL and dominate on the international stage.