ICC T20 World Cup 2026: SWOT Analysis | Unpredictable West Indies have a mountain to climb

West Indies will hope to repeat the glory that they tasted a decade ago, having lifted the T20 World Cup title for the second time in 2016, when the World Cup was last hosted in India.

However, the unpredictable and inconsistent team will have a mountain to climb as they could potentially face favourites India along with strong contenders Australia and South Africa in the Super 8 stage.

The Caribbeans are drawn in Group C along with England, Italy, Scotland and Nepal.

Going by recent form it would not be a surprise if the team suffers a defeat to one of the associate opponents in the first round.

The team enters the tournament after having suffered a series defeat to Afghanistan, while they had also lost two matches to Nepal last year.

What is in West Indies' favour

West Indies are known for their power hitters and they enter the tournament with several players who could enjoy batting on flat Indian pitches.

Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Johnson Charles, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder and Romario Shephard have the ability to clear the boundary at will and could pose a threat to the opponents.

The spinning line-up includes Akeal Hossein, Gudakesh Motie and all-rounder and captain Roston Chase.

What could go wrong

The team's unpredictability and lack of playing as a unit could come back to haunt the West Indies. The team has been struggling to stitch together consistent performances even against lower-ranked teams in the last few years.

The pace department could go for big runs when confronted with strong batting line-ups as Holder leads an attack, including Shamar Joseph, Matthew Forde, and Jayden Seales that does not exude a lot of confidence.

West Indies squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Shai Hope (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd