West Indies' captain Shai Hope, right, and coach Daren Sammy during a practice session ahead of the first ODI cricket match of a series between India and West Indies, in Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) (PTI09_26_2026_000423B)In one sentence, West Indies captain Shai Hope captured the angst of West Indies: “We always hear we have not beaten this team in twenty or fifteen years.” It’s the timeframe when the once swaggering emperors plunged to full-blown chaos. “It’s the harsh reality,” he mumbled.West Indies have not tasted a series win in India in 20 years; they have not conquered Australia at home in 41; England in 42; and their last conquest away from home was in 2023, drubbing minnows UAE. Their last victory over a full member in their backyard came as far back as 2012, against Bangladesh.Hope and his men belong to a generation when the talk has been not so much about the glorious past as it has been on the anarchy that has seized them. The corrupt administrators, the board’s penury, the defections, pay disputes, contract friction, plunging domestic structure, stand-offs and strikes, the sustained hurtle into ignominy. Hope felt a shiver of hurt when a scribe asked him about the World Cup preparations kicking off with the India series: “First, we need to make that World Cup!” he said, with a self-effacing smile. He added: “It’s a great indicator for us to see where we are as a team. Playing India in their backyard, always a challenge, you know, it’s one that we definitely need to grasp and embrace.”ALSO READ | India’s ageing World Cup house has a leaking roof named HardikThere is an irony in seeing India as a benchmark, where the great West Indies teams of the late 70s to early 90s is still the gauge of cricketing invincibility. The disparity in their head-to-head record in this format captures the story. India have won 72; West Indies 64. Despite West Indies’s recent tribulations, the chasm is not wide, which shows how superior they once were. West Indies’ captain Shai Hope addresses a press conference ahead of the first ODI cricket match of a series between India and West Indies, in Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar) (PTI09_26_2026_000422A)In a sense, West Indies find themselves as India were in the early phase of their domination. A bunch of individual, unharnessed talents, wildly moody and inconsistent. “We see great sparks from different series and from different persons. It is about repeating that, trying to get those performances (for a sustained period) rather than one or two games, just try to extend that for two, three, four series. Consistency is the biggest thing for us.” he said.For a team ranked tenth, they have gifted individuals. Hope has been their lighthouse in this format, with 6,312 runs at 50.09 — numbers that should place him among the contemporary elites of the game. Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph could examine the technique and bravado of most competent batsmen in the world. Alzarri bowled with sharp pace in the nets; Joseph swung the ball briskly away from his right-handed colleagues. Even if the surface rebels, they could instigate misjudgments in India’s openers.Story continues below this adIf the surface offers grip, the spinners could exploit. There is canny variety: Roston Chase is a tall, loopy off-spinner; Gudakesh Motie peddles both left-arm orthodox and wrist spin and boasts an average of 19 and an economy rate of 4.2; Vitel Lawes is a 19-year-old left-arm wrist spinner who turns the ball sharply both ways. “ Vitel, to me, he is a find for us,” coach Darren Sammy had said before the series.The tourists’ best hope hinges on their competitive bowling rather than their capricious batting. “You know the experience of Roston and Motie, they have had a big impact overseas for the last few years,” he said.In their first practice session upon landing in India, all of them trained intensely, without betraying any apparent distress after Cricket West Indies announced a revamped pay structure that sees them suffer a 25 percent pay cut. Hope was all giggles during the press conference, and most of them were in an upbeat mood during the training, quietly going through their paces.Dismayingly, though, the batters looked rusty. Shamar frequently beat Johnson Charles; he once shattered his toes with a heat-seeking yorker. Jewel Andrew’s technique was so clumsy that he barely located his bat’s sweet-spot. Little wonder that only two batsmen in the whole squad averages more than 40, and as many as four have their numbers beneath 35.Story continues below this adSammy believes that they are playing better than last year. They might have lost all their last four ODI rubbers, but the 3-2 defeat to New Zealand offers a shard of hope that there could be half a revival gleaming in the distance. It would be symbolic if it starts with India, whose path to the peak of cricketing superpower-ship began by toppling West Indies. All Hope seeks, though, is “progression.” Those remotely acquainted with West Indies cricket would know it is a word ripped off their diction.