ANTIGUA: Cricket West Indies (CWI) have confirmed that Shai Hope and Rovman Powell will be the new captains of the ODI and T20I teams, respectively, taking over the roles from Nicholas Pooran. 

Pooran stepped down from the captaincy of both white-ball formats following the West Indies’ forgettable campaign in the last year’s ICC T20 World Cup in November, facing an early exit from the tournament in the first round.

The first assignments for both captains will be the upcoming tour of South Africa in March where the West Indies face the Proteas in three ODIs and three T20Is from 16 to 28 March, following two matches in the ICC World Test Championship, said CWI on Wednesday.

With the 50-Over World Cup in sight later this year, wicket-keeper batter Hope’s foremost challenge as a captain is to earn qualification for West Indies in the tournament as his team is likely to play qualifiers scheduled to be held in Zimbabwe in June.

“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,” Hope said in a CWI statement.

Hope has represented West Indies in 104 ODI games and vice-captained the side on a number of occasions. His exceptional individual performances earned him a place in the ICC ODI Team of the Year for 2022.

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