T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s: Hope hopes IPL experience will come in handy in Ahmedabad
Fresh off a commanding win over Zimbabwe at the Wankhede Stadium, West Indies captain Shai Hope banked on the Indian Premier League experience of his teammates to come in handy for Thursday’s Super Eights clash against South Africa in Ahmedabad.
South Africa has enjoyed the comfort of familiarity, being based in Ahmedabad through the Men’s T20 World Cup and playing four of its five matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium. West Indies, in contrast, will be turning up at the venue for the first time this edition. Hope, however, is hoping to negate the disadvantage.
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“It’s certainly a factor, but having said that, you’ve still got to play the cricket on the day,” Hope said on Monday night after the West Indies crushed Zimbabwe by 107 runs here. “Most of the guys in our team have played in Ahmedabad several times. A lot of them have been involved in the IPL, some even against India there, so it wouldn’t be alien to us.”
The skipper acknowledged that extended familiarity with a venue in a short tournament can offer an edge. “When you play at a venue for so many games in a short span, you would have an advantage. That’s the reality,” he admitted. “But I don’t think that deters us from what we are trying to do. We are still going to play the same cricket we have been playing.”
For Hope, the key will lie in swift assessment of conditions rather than dwelling on perceived disadvantages.
“That’s going to be the biggest thing for that encounter — assessing as quickly as we can,” he said. “Especially when most of the games are here, in Wankhede and Kolkata, just adapting as quickly as possible because they would be more familiar with the conditions.”
Published on Feb 24, 2026
