Shai Hope Embraces India Challenge as West Indies Target ODI Progress

Hope is relishing the opportunity to take on one of the world's leading ODI teams and has urged his players to embrace the challenge ahead of the opening match in Thiruvananthapuram.

“Playing India in their backyard is always a challenge, and it's one that we definitely need to grasp and embrace,” Hope said. “When you come here, you expect the best of the best. It's a great indicator for us to see where we are as a team.”

West Indies failed to secure automatic qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup and will have to go through the qualifiers in February for the third consecutive time. The upcoming series against India therefore represents both a major challenge and an important opportunity to prepare for that tournament.

For Hope, playing against the best teams is essential if West Indies are to close the gap with the leading sides.

“When you're playing international cricket, you want to play against the best,” he said. “When they are playing in their home conditions, you get the real test.”

Hope's experience a major asset

Hope will be one of West Indies' key players during the series, particularly given his impressive record in Indian conditions.

The right-hander has played 11 ODIs in India, scoring 512 runs at an average of 56.88, including two centuries and two fifties. He has also been West Indies' leading ODI run-scorer since the beginning of 2025, accumulating 869 runs at an average of 51.11.

Hope believes adaptability has been central to his success across different conditions.

“I pride myself a lot on trying to be the best that I can be,” he said. “One of those things is that you have to be able to adapt.”

He stressed that batting successfully in India requires a different approach compared with conditions in Australia, England or the Caribbean.

“It’s just about being very critical of the way you go about your training and preparation,” Hope said. “Pay close attention to detail and the way we go about preparing and analysing the opposition and the conditions that we play in.”

Young players given chance to learn

West Indies have arrived in India with a mixture of experienced campaigners and emerging players. Roston Chase, Alzarri Joseph and Sherfane Rutherford have previously played in India, while Vitel Lawes, Jewel Andrew and Amir Jangoo are experiencing the conditions for the first time.

Hope believes the series can play an important role in their development.

“It's a very exciting time for these players,” he said. “Whenever you come to India, it's one tour you look forward to coming to play.”

While winning remains the team's priority, Hope said he would also be closely watching how the younger players respond to the challenge.

“For me personally as a leader, I want to see progression,” he said. “I want to see how fast we can adapt against the best in the world and how we can compete.”

Long wait for series victory

West Indies have not won a bilateral ODI series against India for 20 years, while their last bilateral series triumph in India came 24 years ago.

Hope acknowledged the weight of those statistics but believes they can provide additional motivation for his side.

“The harsh reality is almost every series that we go into, those stats are always at the top of the list,” he said.

West Indies will also be looking to reverse a disappointing recent ODI record. They have won only six of their 22 matches since the beginning of 2025, despite producing occasional outstanding individual performances, including Keacy Carty's 170 against Ireland and Jayden Seales' six-wicket haul against Pakistan.

For Hope, consistency remains the biggest challenge.

“We've seen great sparks from different series and from different persons around West Indies cricket. But it's about repeating that,” he said.

“We just need to find a way to be more consistent so we can get a lot more victories. That's how you're going to find yourself climbing up the ladder and really competing against the best teams in the world.”

With India providing a formidable test in their own conditions, Hope knows West Indies face a difficult assignment. But he believes the series could provide valuable evidence of how far his team has progressed — and how much further it still has to go.