Why is Andre Russell not playing for West Indies in T20 World Cup 2026? The answer is simple: He retired from international cricket in July 2025.
West Indies will start their T20 World Cup campaign on February 7 against Scotland.
Many people might still have the question in mind that, “Why is Andre Russell not playing for West Indies in T20 World Cup 2026?” He could not be selected as he has already retired from international cricket, otherwise he would have been a sure-shot pick.
The West Indies legend retired last year in July after the T20I series against Australia. He played the first two games of the five-match series in Kingston before stepping away from the national team.
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Russell was part of the West Indies squads that won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016. He played a key role in the 2016 tournament, taking nine wickets in six matches and playing a finisher role with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 43 off 20 balls in the semi-final to help West Indies reach the final.
In T20Is, Russell played 86 matches and scored 1122 runs in 75 innings at an average of 22.00 and a strike rate of 163.79, including three half-centuries. He remained not out on 24 occasions. With the ball, he took 61 wickets, with his best figures being 3/19. His economy rate was around 9.42, as he mostly bowled in the death overs.
Andre Russell will be a big miss for West Indies in the T20 World Cup 2026, as there are not many all-rounders in the squad who can play the finisher’s role with the bat and bowl in the death overs like him.
On January 26, West Indies announced their 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 which will be led by Shai Hope.
Shai Hope (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Jayden Seales, and Romario Shepherd.
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