The 2026 T20 World Cup is less than a week away. As the teams gear up for the exciting ICC event, scheduled in India and Sri Lanka, former India opener Aakash Chopra has shed light on two-time champions West Indies’ playing XI and their chance of winning the T20 World Cup. The Windies were the champions when the tournament was last hosted in India back in 2016.
The side with lots of talent and firepower in the squad will look to win the trophy for the third time. However, Aakash Chopra believes that they will qualify from the group stage but will be knocked out from the Super 8 stage. The West Indies are placed in Group C with England, Italy, Scotland, and Nepal.
Aakash Chopra picks his probable West Indies playing XI
In a recent video shared on his YouTube channel, named ‘Aakash Chopra’. He shared the possible playing XI of the Windies side with plenty of all-rounder, two spinner and a solitary pacer.
As per his prediction given on the channel, “The XI could be like this – Brandon King, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie and Jayden Seales.”
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‘They should cross the first round and should stop in the second round’- Aakash Chopra
He further predicted that the West Indies would go through the group stage, but they might not have the strength to win the competition, even failing to qualify for the semi-finals. The two-time champions have failed to showcase impressive performances in the last two T20 World Cups in 2022; they were knocked out of the group stage, and in the previous edition in 2024, the side was eliminated from the Super 12 stage.
“Bangladesh was in their group earlier. Now Bangladesh is not there. Scotland have come in their place. So I am saying England and the West Indies to go through to the next round. However, after that, they will be in India’s group – India, Australia, South Africa and the West Indies. That is where their journey should end. They should cross the first round and should stop in the second round.”
“They have an extremely beautiful past. You won the first two ODI World Cups. If we talk about T20 World Cups, there also they have won two. It is a team that can actually win. So you have to come to defend that legacy, and that is a huge opportunity for everybody involved.”
West Indies to rely more on spin
As per Aakash Chopra, the side lacks death bowling ability, with Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd, and will mostly rely on the spinners. Akeal Hosein is predicted to start with the new ball. Most of the games for the Windies are in day time. Two of their four games are at Eden Gardens, Kolkata and the other two are scheduled at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
“What could be their strategy? They will probably still rely more on individual brilliance. Whoever is playing might play such a knock that leaves everyone behind. In bowling, of course, you have to play as a unit. I don’t see too much fast bowling from them. I feel they will use spin more,” he added.
