West Indies have included Shai Hope, the 22-year-old opening batsman from Barbados, in their squad for the third Test against India, which begins on August 9 in St Lucia. Hope replaces Rajendra Chandrika, who made scores of 16, 31, 5 and 1 in the first two Tests, and saw his Test average drop to 14.00, the worst by any West Indies opener who has played 10 or more innings.
Hope, a right-hand batsman who is also capable of keeping wickets, has played six Tests so far, scoring 171 runs at an average of 15.54. He has been in excellent form in recent months, with two hundreds in his last three matches in the WICB Professional Cricket League four-day tournament, and a century for the WICB President’s XI in the Indians’ first warm-up match in St Kitts.
The selectors have made no other changes to West Indies’ 14-man squad. India lead the four-Test series 1-0.
West Indies squad for third Test: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Alzarri Joseph, Marlon Samuels.