Shai Hope: Profile of the West Indies White-Ball Captain and Wicketkeeper-Batter

Shai Hope is a right-handed wicketkeeper-batter from Barbados who captains West Indies in both white-ball formats. He made his name with two hundreds in a Test at Headingley in 2017 and had scored 21 ODI hundreds as of 3 October 2026, along with Test and T20I centuries.

Early life and rise

Hope was born on 10 November 1993 in Saint Michael, Barbados, and learned the game with a tennis ball near the beach. A Barbados Cricket Association scholarship took him to Bede's School near Hailsham in East Sussex, where he captained the first team in 2011 and 2012. His elder brother, Kyle, has also played for West Indies. Shai made his Test debut against England at Kensington Oval in May 2015.

The Headingley breakthrough

His first Test hundred came at Leeds in August 2017. He made 147 in the first innings and 118 not out in the second as West Indies chased 322 to beat England. He was the first batter to score two hundreds in a first-class match at Headingley, and he was later named one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year.

Playing style

Hope bats in the top order and keeps wicket in white-ball cricket, and he has scored international hundreds in all three formats. Head coach Daren Sammy has described him as an analytical leader who leans on match data and stays calm under pressure.

Career highlights

• 5 May 2019, Dublin: 170 against Ireland in an opening stand of 365 with John Campbell, a new ODI record for the first wicket; West Indies won by 196 runs.
• 3 October 2026, New Chandigarh: 162 not out as West Indies chased 352 against India, their highest successful ODI chase. It was his 21st ODI hundred, though India took the series 2-1.
• October 2026, T20I series in India: two unbeaten 102s. The second, on 14 October in Hyderabad, helped West Indies to 247 for 3 and a 24-run win that levelled the five-match series at 2-2. It was his third T20I hundred, the most by a West Indies batter.

Captaincy and role in the team

Cricket West Indies named Hope ODI captain on 15 February 2023, succeeding Nicholas Pooran, and added the T20I captaincy in March 2025 in place of Rovman Powell. When the board ran a selection process for a new Test captain in May 2025, Hope chose not to be considered. In the white-ball sides he combines the captaincy with keeping wicket and batting in the top order.

Franchise cricket

Hope plays domestic cricket for Barbados and franchise cricket for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League. He has also played for Delhi Capitals in the IPL, and he joined Pretoria Capitals for the fourth SA20 season as a replacement for Will Jacks.