Shai Hope and Rovman Powell have been named as the captains of the West Indies ODI and T20I sides respectively on Thursday. The development has been confirmed by Cricket West Indies who said that Hope and Powell will take over the leadership baton from Nicholas Pooran as the skippers of the Men's ODI and the Men's T20I teams for the forthcoming series against South Africa and will remain the leaders going forward.
It is pertinent to note that Pooran had stepped down as the captain of the white-ball formats after West Indies' made an early exit from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup last year.
"To lead a team that is of such incredible significance not only to myself and my teammates but to our legion of fans the world over, is something one dreams of as a child," Hope said in a statement released by Cricket West Indies.
"I would like to thank CWI for entrusting me with this immense opportunity. To navigate West Indies cricket in the right direction will be my fundamental priority and a task that I shall be unwaveringly committed to. With the support of my teammates and our dedicated fans, I look forward to a long and fulfilling tenure as captain," Hope added.
For Pooran the job will be to build a team that could go on to do well in the next edition of the T20 World Cup which will be co-hosted by the Caribbean islands.
"I'm truly humbled and grateful to be given this amazing opportunity to lead the West Indies. For me, this a huge vote of confidence and I see this as the greatest honour of my career. To be asked to 'carry the flag' for the people of the Caribbean, there's no bigger role in cricket in the region -- a job previously held by some of the greatest servants of West Indies cricket," Powell said.
"I also want to thank CWI for allowing me to guide the team in the coming years as we set sights on the ICC Men's T20 World Cup," he added.
While Hope has played 104 ODIs and scored 4308 at an average of 48.95, Powell has a strike rate of over 130 in the game's shortest format in international cricket.