Akeal Hosein: Senior players must step up for Windies in Nepal

Thu, Sep 25, '25

Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein said he and the senior players in the Windies setup will have to shoulder the responsibility when the Men In Maroon face Nepal in a three-match T20 series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates, from September 27-30.

The 32-year-old Hosein, who put in a timely Man of the Match performance in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final on September 21 to help Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) to their fifth CPL title, will captain the Windies team which will be without a number of first-team players.

Former West Indies captain Jason Holder joins Hosein in the 15-man squad, with other experienced players including allrounder Fabian Allen, opener Kyle Mayers and left-arm seamer Obed McCoy. However, the team for Nepal is largely an untested one with as many as six uncapped players in the T20 format for the West Indies.

With all-format coach Daren Sammy also missing the tour as the Test team prepares for a two-match Test series away to India from October 2-14, the Nepal exercise gives some upcoming players a chance to show their worth in a series which falls outside the International Cricket Council's Future Tours Programme.

"We're not going to put too much pressure on (the younger players). It's just about them coming and expressing themselves," Hosein said, at TKR's homecoming party at the Piarco International Airport on September 22. "We've seen some talent in the CPL as well. So for them, it's to come and play, enjoy and do what got them selected in the first place. No stress, no pressure. Most of the senior guys will have to try and take up that pressure mantle and just allow the younger players to come on and play freely and do what they love and enjoy."