Although the Caribbean side missed out on a semi-final spot, they lit up the stage with their batting heroics.
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West Indies were knocked out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday by co-hosts India in a virtual quarterfinal in Kolkata. Though a tough pill to swallow, the team leadership is focusing on the positives from a campaign that was rich in both quality and entertainment.
With 2016 World Cup-winning captain Darren Sammy back at the helm as coach, the Caribbean side delivered an assured performance throughout the tournament. Beginning with the group stage, they won five consecutive matches before falling to South Africa and India in the Super Eights, ultimately missing out on a semi-final spot.
“I’m very proud of the boys, Sammy said after the match against India. The way they tried to embrace what we are doing in this tournament has been great. Obviously, everyone will be disappointed to be knocked out of a tournament when you feel like you could have won it. It will be tough to cheer them up, but I’m proud as a coach.
The West Indies took the battle to India even on Sunday. They achieved a difficult total of 195/4 despite not getting the required acceleration in powerplay. Sanju Samson’s undefeated innings of 97, the most by any Indian hitter in a run-chase in the T20 World Cup, was necessary to bring them to a complete stop.
In the press conference following the game, West Indies captain Shai Hope remarked, “He played really well.”
It’s normally simpler to score easily when chasing on a pitch like this at the Eden Gardens. Taking nothing away from him, though he is a talented player who has been doing exceptionally well for a long time.
It’s a cricket match with narrow margins where one team must prevail. We played against every opponent for the entire campaign, and we were quite certain about how we intended to play. And for us, execution was crucial. We didn’t perform as well as we would have in the batting powerplay today.
But earlier in the tournament, the formidable West Indian batting lineup had lighted up the stage. In their Super Eight match against Zimbabwe, the West Indies broke the 250 barrier for the first time in this World Cup, scoring 254/6 thanks to a 34-ball 85 from Shimron Hetmyer. It is the third-highest total in T20 World Cup history and the second-highest in the 2026 World Cup.
Hetmyer also finished with the most sixes of any player in a single T20 World Cup.
While Hope’s team was always expected to entertain with the bat, their bowling depth was a revelation. In the four group-stage matches they played, West Indies bowled their rivals out inside 20 overs on three occasions. The former champions began their World Cup with a blockbuster performance from Romario Shepherd, who claimed a hat-trick and finished with 5/20 against Scotland on February 7.
“I thought our bowling was a lot better than in previous series, and this is when you really wanted to stand up—especially with the power players. We were really good,” Hope said when asked about the positives from the tournament.
From a batting standpoint, Shimr on Hetmyer coming in at number three and doing what he does best. A lot of the batters contributing to the bigger totals we posted in this tournament. Hetty played a really good tournament. Matthew Forde with the new ball, Akeal, Motie taking his wickets, Sheppey with a hat-trick and a fifer.
There are so many things you could talk about from this tournament. I think the guys represented the region well, and we can all go home with our heads held high.
