Shai Hope made his Test debut as a 21-year-old, having played just 14 first-class matches then. But few in the Caribbean doubted his talent as a batsman. Clive Lloyd gave him his West Indies cap, and coach Stuart Law insisted that he only needed one innings to get going. The world eventually got to know why the boy from Barbados was rated so highly when he became the first player, in 534 first-class matches, to score a hundred in each inning at Headingley.
Hope was 23 at the time, the youngest member of the XI, leading West Indies to victory with scores of 147 and 118 not out. They had been faced with a target of 322 – not since Bradman’s Invincibles rocketed to 404 for 3 in 1948 had a team chased that many on Yorkshire’s storied turf, and won. Adding to the occasion was the fact West Indies had been dismantled only a week ago, England beating them by an innings and 209 runs to ensure their fans could savour the advent of day-night Test cricket in the country.
Hope made his first-class debut in 2012-13, but propelled himself into consideration for the West Indies team after a superb season in 2014-15 when he scored 628 runs in nine matches – he was the fourth-highest run-getter in the tournament. He racked up 538 runs at 67.25 in 2015-16 – the highest average among the top 10 – and secured his maiden first-class double-hundred at his home ground, Kensington Oval, in March 2017
Shai Hope Biography
| Full name | Shai Diego Hope |
| Nick Name | Shai Hope |
| Date of Birth/DOB/ age | Nov 10, 1993 (30 years) |
| Birth Place | Saint Michael, Barbados |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Scorpio |
| Profession | Cricketer (Batsman, Wicket-keeper) |
| Country | Barbados |
| Cricket Role | Wicketkeeper Batter |
| Father name | Ian Hope |
| Mother name | Quinta Hope |
| Married | Unmarried |
| Spouse or Girlfriend | N/A |
| Children | N/A |
| Education Qualification | High School Graduate |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Current Residence | Bridgetown, Barbados |
| Nationality | Barbadian |
| Batting Style | Right hand Bat |
| Feilding Position | Wicketkeeper |
| International Debut | ODI– 16 November 2016 against Sri Lanka at Harare Test– 1 May 2015 against England at Bridgetown T20– 29 December 2017 against New Zealand at Nelson |
| Teams | West Indies, Barbados Royals, West Indies Cricket Board President XI, UWI Vice Chancellors XI, Rangpur Rangers, WI Brathwaite XI, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Khulna Tigers, Lahore Qalandars, Yorkshire, Delhi Capitals |
Shai Hope Physical Statistics
| Height | in centimeters– 175 cm in meters– 1.75 m in feet inches– 5’ 9” |
| Weight | in kilograms– 70 kg in pounds– 154 lbs |
| Body Measurements (approx.) | – Chest: 40 inches – Waist: 32 inches – Biceps: 14 inches |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Hair Color | Black |
Shai Hope Profile
Shai Diego Hope is a right-handed Windies batsman who made his Test debut against England in 2015. Having played just 14 first-class games before his international debut, Hope was selected for the national team after he scored a double century against the Windward Islands team on the last day of the Regional four-day competition.
After making his first-class debut in 2012/13, Hope caught the eye of the national selectors after a fantastic 2014/15 season. He was the fourth-highest run-scorer of the tournament, amassing 628 runs in nine matches.
When words like talent and potential ring around, the world expects proof of it; sooner rather than later. Shai Hope had a point to prove after averaging only 16 in his first 10 Test matches. In swinging conditions, under lights and against a pink ball at Edgbaston, Hope was exposed to the harsh realities of the moving ball. All he could manage were scores of 15 and 4 in that Test where Windies infamously lost 19 wickets in a day in a meek surrender to concede a 1-0 lead.
Windies then roared back to pull off a stunning victory in only the next Test at Leeds. They chased 322 runs to win a Test match in England, beating them for the first time in 17 years, in 19 matches and after that abject three-day humiliation of Birmingham. It was Shai Hope who took the Windies to a memorable victory with an unbeaten century, his second in the match. ‘It has never happened before in the 127-year history of first-class cricket in Yorkshire at Headingley’ — were the words gushed out by Fazeer Mohammed on BBC Radio as Hope unleashed himself on the international stage whilst putting all the criticism to rest.
The most impressive feature of Shai Hope’s twin hundreds was his calmness and maturity. With oodles of talent on his side and a good head on top of his shoulder, Hope could go a long way in achieving great success with the Windies.
Shai Hope Career Stats
Batting & Fielding
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 38 | 72 | 3 | 1726 | 147 | 25.01 | 4124 | 41.85 | 2 | 5 | 199 | 6 | 53 | 1 |
| ODIs | 121 | 116 | 16 | 5132 | 170 | 51.32 | 6586 | 77.92 | 16 | 25 | 412 | 91 | 125 | 13 |
| T20Is | 26 | 24 | 2 | 493 | 55 | 22.40 | 396 | 124.49 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 20 | 10 | 1 |
| FC | 69 | 123 | 9 | 4019 | 215* | 35.25 | 8895 | 45.18 | 9 | 15 | 437 | 21 | 84 | 2 |
| List A | 164 | 157 | 17 | 6875 | 170 | 49.10 | 8815 | 77.99 | 19 | 39 | 546 | 129 | 180 | 20 |
| T20s | 93 | 89 | 8 | 2191 | 106 | 27.04 | 1737 | 126.13 | 1 | 10 | 164 | 97 | 40 | 8 |
Bowling
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 38 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| ODIs | 121 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20Is | 26 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| FC | 69 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 2.50 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 164 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20s | 93 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Shai Hope IPL Auction Price History
| Year | Price | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | ||
| 2019 | ||
| 2020 | ||
| 2021 | ||
| 2022 | ||
| 2023 | ||
| 2024 | 75 lakh | Delhi Capitals |
Shai Hope’s Social Media Accounts
| 🇧🇧 Shai Hope (@shaidhope) | |
| Shai Hope (@shaidhope) | |
| Shai Hope | |
| Wikipedia | Shai Hope |
Some Lesser-Known Facts About Shai Hope
- Does Shai Hope smoke: Not Known
- Does Shai Hope drink alcohol: Yes
- Shai belongs to a sports-loving family; as his father was a club cricketer, while his mother used to play netball and cricket.
- At the age of 17, he earned a life-changing opportunity when a scouting of St. Bede’s School of Sussex, rewarded him a 2-year scholarship programme to mould his cricketing skills.
- When he joined the Bede’s 1st XI cricket team, he was straightaway given the captaincy of the team by his team coach, Alan Wells.
- His maiden ODI ton came in 2016; just in his second match, which was against Zimbabwe. Windies was chasing 257 where he scored 102. The match, however, resulted in a tie. He was awarded Man of the Match for his performance.
- The Leeds Test against England in 2017 made him a star overnight after he made 147 runs in the first innings, and an unbeaten 118 in the second innings to earn West Indies a historic win by 5 wickets.
- His first name is pronounced “Shey” or “Shaye” and not “Shy.”
- Veteran West Indian cricket writer and commentator Tony Cozier has described him as “A stylish number 3 batsman.”
- Shai Hope was picked by Delhi Capitals in the 2024 IPL auction for the base price of Rs. 75 lakh; the auction was held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
