The West Indies cricket board announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, which will be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7. The squad West Indies has announced is filled with experience, youth, and x-factor.
The squad has all the elements a team wants to build a strong team around. While the team has star players like Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, and Jason Holder, there is a certain batter who has played only three T20Is so far for the West Indies cricket team.
Sanju Samson to play for West Indies in T20 World Cup 2026?
Meanwhile, during an interview, Daren Sammy, the head coach of the West Indies cricket team, mentioned India batter Sanju Samson’s name while he was explaining their squad selection. Actually, Sammy was explaining the selection of Quentin Sampson, who had played only 3 T20Is for his country before being named in the T20I squad.
Sammy mistakenly mentioned Sanju Samson instead of Quentin Sampson. The selection of Sampson into the team for the 2026 World Cup came as a surprise for many cricket fans and experts, as the cricketer has very limited experience in international cricket.
Who is Quinton Simpson?
The 25-year-old made his T20I debut on January 19 during the West Indies vs. Afghanistan T20I match in Dubai. In this match, the lower-order batter added a crucial 30 runs, which might have been enough to impress the selectors. In three games against Afghanistan, Sampson scored 35 runs at an average of 11.66 with a strike rate of 100.
His 30-run knock off 24 balls came during the first match of the series when the West Indies was chasing 182. Batting at No. 6, he struck two fours and two sixes, both off Rashid Khan in the space of three balls.
Daren Sammy explained that their T20I team has multiple hard hitters like Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, and Rovman Powell. So they needed someone who could bat patiently against spin bowlers. The T20 World Cup is going to be held in India and Sri Lanka, where spinners used to get extra assistance from the pitch.
Daren Sammy reveals why he included Quentin Sampson in the team
“However, if you look at the balance of the squad, we have three openers, and we have the middle-order batsmen like Shimron and Rovman. We needed someone in that middle period who has that ability to challenge the spin like Samson did in the CPL (Caribbean Premier League)”, Sammy said.
“The next best option to play that type of role, in the players available to us, was Sanju Samson,” Sammy said this and quickly realised that he, by mistake, mentioned Sanju Samson’s name instead of saying Simpson. Shaking left and right, and with a little smile on his face, Sammy quickly corrected his mistake.
Read More: India playing XI for T20 World Cup 2026 selected; Arshdeep Singh OUT, Sanju Samson IN
