Brandon King has been chosen to captain a significantly weakened West Indies squad, which will play Afghanistan in three T20Is.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) recently announced a 16-member squad that does not include several of its key players, including white-ball captain Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Rovman Powell, or Romario Shepherd, for the tour of the United Arab Emirates, which runs from Jan. 19 to 22.
While West Indians will be pleased to see the return of pacer Shamar Joseph from injury, they will seek answers about the non-inclusion of fellow fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, who has been out since last September due to injury.
“Alzarri Joseph, who was also sidelined by injury towards the end of 2025, had been making encouraging progress in his return-to-play programme but has not been included at this stage as a precaution following medical review,” CWI said.
King, who previously led the West Indies in T20 Internationals, will be at the helm for the series, which will serve as crucial preparation ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled to begin on Feb. 6 in India and Sri Lanka.
Veteran opener Evin Lewis has been named in the squad, while Guyanese all-rounder Quentin Sampson has earned a maiden international call-up. Shimron Hetmyer has also been recalled.
Head coach, Daren Sammy said, “The opportunity to play competitive matches in subcontinental conditions is ideal, as it assists with our preparations and confidence building ahead of what will be a competitive T20 World Cup.
“It also presents a valuable platform to assess players who would’ve missed significant time towards the end of 2025, as well as those stepping into important roles for this series, prior to the selection of the final squad for the international tournament,” Sammy said.
WEST INDIES SQUAD: Brandon King (captain), Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Johnson Charles, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Shamar Joseph, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Khary Pierre, Quentin Sampson, Jayden Seales, Ramon Simmonds, Shamar Springer, Shimron Hetmyer.
