After Headingley, however, it was as if Hope’s Test-match batting form fell off a cliff. The West Indies next had two Tests against Zimbabwe, where he made an undefeated 90 in the first game at Bulawayo. But after that there was nothing, and his red-ball batting entered a period of despondency, one from which he could not extricate himself — until now.
In the 50 or so innings he played after Zimbabwe, he went past 50 only twice. But in the second Test against India in New Delhi the stylish right-hander scored a highly composed 103 in the West Indies’ second innings after they followed on 270 runs behind. This time his heroics didn’t lead to victory. But his innings signalled a welcome return to form from a player who had showed that he could walk in elite company.
Hope recently returned to whites as the West indies’ wicketkeeper-batter during the Australian series in the Caribbean. His red-ball batting woes continued, however, albeit in difficult batting conditions, and he only managed 113 runs in the three games. And it may be significant that his return to run-scoring coincided with him being relieved of the wicketkeeping gloves, which allowed him to bat at four in the order as opposed to six since his return.
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025/10/21/still-hope-shai-tests/