Shai Hope

One of the most technically sound batsmen, Shai Hope is a professional cricketer for the West Indies national team. Currently one of the biggest assets for the Caribbean side, his balance, and ability to score runs all over the ground makes him a lethal batsman. 

After making his first-class debut for Barbados in March 2013, Hope caught the eye of the national selectors after a fantastic 2014-15 season, finishing as the fourth-highest run-scorer of the tournament, amassing 628 runs in nine matches. Hope earned his maiden call-up to the West Indies squad on the back of a mesmerizing double-century for Barbados in first-class cricket.

A year later he made his ODI debut in a Tri-series including Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. In just his second ODI, he scored his maiden century against Zimbabwe and announced his arrival at the international stages. Mainly known for his batting in the 50-over format, he became the only batsman for West Indies to average over 50 in ODIs with a minimum of 3000 runs to his name. 

Hope established himself as a key member for the Caribbean Islands in 2019 and stitched together a record-breaking partnership of 365 runs for the opening wicket alongside John Campbell in ODIs against Ireland. By doing so, he also became the fastest West Indian to reach 3000 ODI runs achieving the feat in just 47 innings. 

It will not be wrong to say that Hope is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest batsmen ever produced by the West Indian side in the modern era, especially in ODIs but for that he has to remain consistent in the upcoming years and replicate his limited-overs performances in the longer formats.

(As of August 2021)