Quentin Sampson has been picked for the first time in the West Indies senior team. The 16-member squad of West Indies was announced on Saturday for the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan, which will be played in Dubai from January 19 to 22. Brandon King will lead the team as regular captain Shai Hope will not be available. Hope is featuring in the SA20 league, along with Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, and Sherfane Rutherford, so all four will be missing this series.
Sampson Gets First West Indies Call-Up
Sampson, who is just 25 years old, had an impressive performance in the CPL 2025 season. He scored a total of 241 runs in 9 matches with an impressive strike rate of 151.57, resulting in an opportunity to be part of this team. Shamar Joseph and Evin Lewis are back in the team as their injuries are now recovered. They left fast bowler Alzarri Joseph out of the team as his back injury had been improving, and it was a wise decision to give him some rest. He may be back in action shortly, possibly in the T20 World Cup.
Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, and Romario Shepherd were benched based on workload management concerns. According to the head coach Daren Sammy, this series between the Caribbean side and Afghanistan is crucial for preparing the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup held in India and Sri Lanka.
