Former India batsman Aakash Chopra believes the vast experience their players have gained in the shortest format is one of West Indies’ strengths heading into the 2026 T20 World Cup. He stressed that the Windies went into the Championship with high hopes, although he admitted that belief would only be realized with a strong performance.

The 2026 T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held between February 7 and March 8 between India and Sri Lanka. The West Indies are in Group C with England, Nepal, Italy and Scotland in the preliminary stages.

in a video Former India opener Aakash Chopra shared on his YouTube channel that West Indies will enter 2026 T20 World Cup High hopes, relying on the vast experience of their players in more than 20 games.

“This team has hope. I won’t say faith because faith comes with performance, but the hope is there, and the hope’s name is not just Shai Hope. This team has power. When you see their starting lineup, you feel that this team is very strong,” Chopra said.

“They have T20 specialists in their bowling department where you will see Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd. So overall they have a lot of T20 experience. All of them have a lot of experience because they have played so many T20s,” he added.

this west indies In the series ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, they lost 2-1 to South Africa. They lost the first two games but bounced back via DLS approach to win the final game by 6 points.

‘They actually have some really good finishers’ – Aakash Chopra on West Indies’ other strengths going into 2026 T20 World Cup

Romario Shepherd is one of the finishers in the West Indies batting line-up. (Image credit: Getty)Romario Shepherd is one of the finishers in the West Indies batting line-up. (Image credit: Getty)
Romario Shepherd is one of the finishers in the West Indies batting line-up. (Image credit: Getty)

In the same video, Akash Chopra Point out that West Indies have many players who can wear the finisher’s hat in the 2026 T20 World Cup.

“They actually have some very good finishers. They have Sherfan Rutherford, Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd. They can all play the role of finisher. Shimron Hetmyer is also a finisher if he continues to bat. He has been used as a finisher in the IPL,” he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the two-time champions have a strong batting line-up that includes Brandon King and Shay Hope.

“They have plenty of firepower. Their finishing is unbelievable and their batting has a lot of power no matter what. They have two good openers in Brandon King and Shai Hope, and Shai Hope is a good three-format player,” Chopra commented.

West Indies will kick off their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign against Scotland in Kolkata on February 7. They will then face England and Nepal in Mumbai on February 11 and 15 respectively before returning to Kolkata to conclude the group stage against Italy on February 19.