Kamil Pooran Completes West Indies Call-Up After CPL Success
Kamil Pooran’s surge from CPL breakout to full West Indies honours is complete.
The Saint Lucia Kings opener has been handed his first international call-up for the five-match T20I series on the upcoming tour of India, a reward for a blistering debut Caribbean Premier League campaign that the selectors simply couldn’t ignore. Pooran smashed 273 runs in eight innings at a strike-rate of 159.34, setting early tones, clearing fields, and forcing his name onto the team sheet.
He will be part of a refreshed T20I group that also welcomes back batter Quentin Sampson and all-rounder Keemo Paul, as West Indies begin to shape the next phase of their white-ball project.
Holder rested, Hetmyer managed
One of the most familiar faces in the T20I setup will be missing. Jason Holder, the former captain and now a central figure in West Indies’ shortest-format plans, has been rested for the T20 leg of the tour. His workload has been carefully managed in recent years, and his ODI involvement has already dwindled; he has not played a 50-over international in more than three years, last appearing at the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
Shimron Hetmyer’s schedule tells a different story but serves the same purpose. After a taxing CPL, he has been granted an “extended recovery period” and will sit out the ODI series from September 27 to October 3. Cricket West Indies stressed that Hetmyer “remains committed” to the 50-over programme, a clear signal that this is rest, not exile. He will rejoin the group for the T20Is starting October 6, when the tempo of the tour lifts again.
Familiar ODI core, with a youthful twist
The ODI squad heading to India carries a largely familiar look to the side that lost a tight five-match series 3-2 to New Zealand in July. The backbone remains, but there are notable shifts around it.
Ackeem Auguste is missing as he continues his rehabilitation following surgery last month. His absence has opened the door for 19-year-old Jewel Andrew, recalled by the selectors and tasked with stepping into a senior environment still in transition. Andrew has also been named in the T20I squad, underlining how highly he is rated and how quickly West Indies want to test his temperament at the highest level.
At the top of the order, John Campbell returns after injury ruled him out of the last two ODIs against New Zealand. His comeback restores some experience to a batting unit that has shown flashes of quality without quite stitching together a sustained run of results.
The second ODI on September 30 will carry a technical milestone: it marks the end of the cycle for automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup in Africa. For West Indies, though, the equation is already settled. No matter what happens in the first two games, they cannot force their way into the automatic spots and will have to navigate next year’s Qualifiers.
That reality might sting, but it also sharpens the purpose of this tour.
Sammy’s long view
Head coach Daren Sammy, who has lived the highs and lows of West Indies cricket as player and now as coach, framed the India series as both examination and opportunity, starting with the first ODI in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27.
He pointed to the chance to measure themselves against the “top team in the world,” and to use that stage to fine-tune an ODI side that has produced “quality performances across the cycle” without consistently closing out series. For Sammy, this is not just about surviving India; it is about identifying who can carry the team into the 2027 World Cup.
The tour becomes a live laboratory. New faces like Pooran and Andrew, returning pieces like Campbell and Paul, and established pillars such as captain Shai Hope and the pace pair of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph all have their roles to play in that experiment.
What West Indies do with this blend in India will not decide their future on its own. But it will tell plenty about who is ready to shape it.
West Indies ODI squad for India tour
- Shai Hope (captain)
- Jewel Andrew
- John Campbell
- Keacy Carty
- Roston Chase
- Matthew Forde
- Justin Greaves
- Amir Jangoo
- Alzarri Joseph
- Shamar Joseph
- Vitel Lawes
- Gudakesh Motie
- Keemo Paul
- Sherfane Rutherford
- Jayden Seales
