Shai ‘Hopes’ To See West Indies A Dominant Force Again In T20 World Cup 2024
New Delhi: Delhi Capitals’ batter Shai Hope, who is currently part of the West Indies squad at the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, spoke at length on a variety of topics, including his cricketing journey, IPL debut with DC, cricket in the West Indies, the home World Cup, and much more in the latest episode of the DC Podcast, season 4.
Speaking about his cricketing journey, Hope said, “Cricket has been a part of my life pretty much from the time I was born. My dad and my brother, they both play cricket. Growing up, I used to watch them play in the garage because my dad, he’s a joiner, he has a nice little workshop there. We used to play cricket inside the workshop. So from then, I just fell in love with the game.”
“My family was always sports-oriented. And it’s just nice to have that freedom, running around the house, just sometimes breaking things. But my mom and dad, they were happy with those things because now they say I can pay for it,” he added.
Reflecting on his debut IPL season, Hope said, “Seeing it on television is one thing. But then actually embracing the atmosphere is a different thing. For example, we played against Chennai in Vizag, which was supposed to be our home fixture. And you see the amount of noise and the sea of yellow for we all know that man (MS Dhoni). So, you’d hear it on TV, but it cannot compare to what it is in person.”
One thing that stuck with me, and I’ve mentioned it a few times, especially to my teammates. He (Dhoni) said you always have way more time than you think. And if he’s telling you that, then it must be right. Hearing that from someone who has done it for numerous years, I think it settled my brain,” the 30-year-old revealed while talking about the influence of MS Dhoni.
Speaking about the prospect of playing in the home World Cup, the West Indies batter said, “The response that we’re getting so far from the crowds, from the public, I think this is going to be one of the bigger tournaments that we’re going to see. Personally, I really want to win a World Cup. That was a dream of mine growing up for years, and it hasn’t changed. I don’t think it will ever change. And 2024 is a perfect opportunity to do so.”
“I don’t really want to say back to the top. I want to say get to the top because I don’t want to live in the past all the time. I would love to see us be the dominant force again around the world. I want West Indies to be looked at as an example for the other teams around the world again,” he added while talking about his aspirations of reviving West Indies cricket.