West Indies batter hints at retirement after not being included in T20 World Cup squad

Veteran West Indies batter Evin Lewis has hinted at retiring from international cricket after being snubbed from the side's 2026 T20 World Cup squad. Cricket West Indies (CWI) had announced their squad for the tournament on Monday and had left out two notable players. First was pacer Alzarri Joseph, who wasn't able to make it to the squad due to an injury while Lewis was also dropped despite having featured in the side's recent T20I assignment against Afghanistan.

The left-hand batter struggled against the Afghanistan bowling attack and scored just 17 runs in the two matches he featured in. Lewis does have quite a bit of experience when it comes to the shortest format as he has played 67 T20Is so far, scoring a total of 1799 runs. However, despite being a senior player, the 34-year-old wasn't given a place in the T20 World Cup squad.

ALSO READ: Australia pacer with over 500 wickets announces retirement after being snubbed from T20 WC squad

It seems that Lewis was extremly disappointed with the snub as he soon took to social media and hinted at taking retirement.

"Jus(t) wanna thank everyone who supported me in my 10 years off international cricket but I think the time has come for me to depart...stay tuned," Lewis wrote in his Instagram story.

Coming to West Indies' squad, they made the surprising call to include batter Quentin Sampson who had made his T20I debut in the side's recent series against Afghanistan. It was his impressive performance in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) that had earned him his maiden international call-up. Sampson was the third-highest run-scorer for Guyana Amazon Warriors, scoring 241 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 151.57.

Multiple players return

They have brought back the likes of Jason Holder, Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd after they were rested for the three-match T20I assignment against Afghanistan. Shai Hope is set to captain the team that is missing both Nicholas Pooran and Andre Russell as the two of them had announced their retirements earlier this year.

West Indies to play Scotland first

West Indies have been drawn in Group C alongside the likes of England, Italy, Nepal and Scotland. They will begin their campaign on February 7 with the clash against Scotland at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

West Indies squad for T20 World Cup 2026: Shai Hope (capt), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd.