West Indies batting star Shai Hope, and his older brother, Kyle Hope, have both been ruled out of the this month’s Super50 Cup in Antigua and Barbuda after testing positive for Covid-19.
The Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) announced the positive test, after the Barbados Pride touring party underwent testing recently in preparation for travel.
The BCA said in a release following the results of the first completed COVID-19 tests, Kyle and Shai Hope returned positive results and will be placed in isolation in accordance with the Government of Barbados protocols.
Batsman Zachary McCaskie and wicket-keeper-batsman Tevyn Walcott will replace the Hope brothers in the Barbados Pride 15-man squad.
The squad is expected to depart the island on Sunday, Feb. 7-27 for the regional domestic 50-over championship.
The latest development will be a massive blow to the Pride squad as the Hope brothers were two of the nine players with West Indies experience set to play in the tournament.
Shai, 27, is one of the world’s leading one-day batsmen, boasting an average of 52 in internationals. Ironically, he was one of 10 West Indies players who declined selection for the ongoing tour of Bangladesh due to “COVID-19 concerns or personal fears, over the health situation in the South Asian country.”
Kyle, meanwhile has played five Tests and several ODIs for West Indies and was making a return to the Pride squad after spending several seasons with Trinidad and Tobago Red Force.
