The West Indies cricket team will play a three-match T20I series against South Africa with a changed lineup. Key players like Andre Russell, Jason Holder, and Alzarri Joseph have been rested to help manage their workload and the team’s overall needs.
The hosts recently lost a Test series 0-1 and they will try to do better in the upcoming series.
After their performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, the West Indies team is now looking ahead to the 2026 T20 World Cup. They are using this series as a chance to reset and plan their strategy against the strong South African team.
Star allrounder Andre Russell has asked for rest and recovery, as confirmed by Miles Bascombe, CWI’s director of cricket. Russell, along with Jason Holder, will be working closely with the CWI science and medicine team during this break.
Alzarri Joseph, who was the vice-captain during the T20 World Cup, will continue his break to focus on improving his skills and recovering. West Indies’ red-ball coach, Andre Coley, highlighted the need to manage player workload carefully, especially for fast bowlers like Joseph.
“As far as Alzarri is concerned, it always helps to have a period away from the game to work on your skills, because you could get drawn into moving from one tournament to the next and might lose some of your skills,” he told ESPNcricinfo.
West Indies squad for T20Is vs South Africa
Rovman Powell (capt), Roston Chase (vice-capt), Alick Athanaze, Fabian Allen, Johnson Charles, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd
