The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is scheduled to begin on February 7th. The tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Twenty teams will compete fiercely for the world championship title. However, a surprising piece of news has emerged from one of the participating teams ahead of the tournament. One of their players has not yet arrived in India, even though his team is scheduled to play on the very first day of the tournament, and this star player is currently stranded in South Africa.
The West Indies team has suffered a major setback ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. Their star batsman, Shimron Hetmyer, is stranded in South Africa due to visa issues and is unable to join his team in India. The West Indies are scheduled to play their first match against Scotland on February 7th, but Hetmyer remains stuck in Johannesburg. Cricket West Indies (CWI) has issued a statement saying that the matter will be resolved soon.
West Indies vs Afghanistan T20 World Cup warm-up match Result
The West Indies team is already in match mode for the T20 World Cup. After a defeat in their warm-up match against Afghanistan on Wednesday, February 4, the Caribbean team is now preparing for their next game, although the absence of Shimron Hetmyer is a major blow. Hetmyer recently had a stellar performance in the three-match T20 series against South Africa. He was the leading run-scorer in the series, accumulating 171 runs with a best score of 75.
Shimron Hetmyer in T20 World Cup 2022
Shimron Hetmyer was also in the news in 2022 for a similar incident. He missed his scheduled flight to Australia for the T20 World Cup, after which he was dropped from the T20 World Cup squad. Shamarh Brooks was later included in the team as his replacement.
West Indies T20 World Cup 2026 squad
Shai Hope (captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd.
