# West Indies call up Kamil Pooran for India T20I series

2026-09-20T01:01:39+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 4 independent outlets

West Indies have named their squads for the upcoming white-ball series against India, starting in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27. Kamil Pooran has earned his maiden T20I call-up after scoring 273 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 159.64 in recent domestic cricket. Opener John Campbell returns to the ODI squad after missing the New Zealand series with a hamstring injury. Shai Hope will captain both the ODI and T20I sides. Shimron Hetmyer has been left out of the ODI squad but will play in the five-match T20I series after the Caribbean Premier League. The T20I squad also includes Quentin Sampson, who was part of West Indies' T20 World Cup squad earlier this year. Head coach Daren Sammy said the India series is a chance to prepare for the 2027 ODI World Cup and build a core for the next T20 World Cup. The five T20Is will be played across Lucknow, Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru from October 6 to 17.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

All four outlets report the West Indies squad announcements with near-identical factual detail: Kamil Pooran's maiden T20I call-up, John Campbell's ODI return, and Shai Hope's captaincy are each led across the print and digital stories. ThePrint and Times of India lead with the call-ups, olympics.com opens with Hope being named captain, rajasthanroyals.com leads with Shimron Hetmyer's T20 World Cup form. The rajasthanroyals.com piece frames Hetmyer's selection as the headline, burying Pooran's debut lower, consistent with its IPL-franchise readership focus. No outlet adopts a critical or political stance: the coverage is straight sport reporting. The uniform framing means the news is self-contained: the five T20Is begin in Lucknow on October 6, and West Indies have named a squad shaped by CPL form and World Cup preparation, with head coach Darren Sammy's long-term development comments the only context beyond bare squad lists.

## Coverage

- theprint.in (neutral report) <https://theprint.in/sport/west-indies-hand-kamil-pooran-maiden-t20i-call-up-for-india-series-john-campbell-makes-odi-return/3047719/>
  Leads with Pooran call-up and Campbell return, neutral match schedule
- olympics.com (neutral report) <https://www.olympics.com/en/news/west-indies-t20-cricket-squad-team-india-2026-series>
  Leads with Hope as captain, then Pooran, neutral squad list
- rajasthanroyals.com (neutral report) <https://www.rajasthanroyals.com/latest-news/shimron-hetmyer-west-indies-india-t20i-series-2026-squad>
  Leads with Hetmyer's form, buries Pooran's debut lower
- timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/west-indies-announce-squads-for-india-tour-john-campbell-returns-kamil-pooran-earns-maiden-t20i-call-up/articleshow/134362544.cms>
  Leads with Campbell return then Pooran call-up, includes Sammy quote

Tags: India, John Campbell, Kamil Pooran, Shai Hope, West Indies
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