West Indies left-arm fingerspinner Akeal Hosein is in line for his 100th T20I in Lucknow on Tuesday. He told ESPNcricinfo he is leaning on data and instinct to deal with India's explosive top order.
Akeal Hosein is one match away from a landmark. The West Indies left-arm fingerspinner is in line to play his 100th T20I when West Indies face India in the 1st T20I of the five-match series at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday 6 October 2026. He would become only the fourth West Indies player to reach 100 T20Is. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo's Sreshth Shah, Hosein explained how he plans to take on India's hitters: with data first, and instinct once the spell is under way.
| The milestone at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Player | Akeal Hosein, West Indies left-arm fingerspinner |
| T20Is so far | 99, since his debut in 2021 |
| Milestone | 100th T20I, if selected |
| Company | Would be only the fourth West Indies player to reach 100 T20Is |
| Match | India v West Indies, 1st T20I of five |
| Venue and time | Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, 7:00 PM IST |
| Date | Tuesday 6 October 2026 |
| Captains | Shreyas Iyer (India), Shai Hope (West Indies) |
Data first, instinct next
Hosein's bowling is a box of tricks: a knuckleball, an arm ball, a drifting delivery and conventional spin. His method is to plan with data and then trust his instincts once a spell begins. He has not faced all of India's batters often, and he does not see that as a problem. "Even though I might not have played against these guys a lot, there's a lot of data around," he said.
On the milestone itself, he is careful not to get ahead of himself. "First of all, I'm still at 99 games; I have to get selected to play my 100th," he said. Then he looked further out: "Who knows if I can make 100 more? It's motivation to continue pushing and see how many games I can play."
The road to this point started in Laventille, Port-of-Spain. He represented West Indies at the Under-19 World Cup in 2012, took 11 wickets in his third first-class match for Trinidad and Tobago and scored an unbeaten hundred in his next. Along the way, Sunil Narine helped with affordable accommodation and Kieron Pollard with employment. He has also captained West Indies once, in a home series against Nepal that West Indies lost 2-1.
The powerplay test and the road back to No. 1
India's top order is explosive, and Hosein is likely to be thrown straight into it. The powerplay match-ups he can expect are against Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi or Ishan Kishan. He is well prepared for that phase. He has bowled 990 powerplay deliveries in T20Is, which makes him the most experienced spinner in the world in the powerplay.
- Against left-handers: an average of 41 at 8.20 runs per over in T20 powerplays.
- Against right-handers: an average of 27.06 at 7.21 runs per over in T20 powerplays.
- Spin balance: West Indies have two left-arm fingerspinners, with Hosein bowling the early overs and Gudakesh Motie through the middle overs.
There is a personal target too. Hosein reached No. 1 on the ICC T20I bowling rankings in December 2024 and is currently 19th. "I've been number one before, and the aim is always to get back there," he said. The five T20Is follow the ODI series: Lucknow on 6 October, then Ranchi on 9 October, Indore on 11 October, Hyderabad on 14 October and Bengaluru on 17 October.
Spin planning, BuildXI style
Hosein's approach is a good picture of how to build a bowling plan: know the numbers, then trust your read in the moment. Choosing a spinner for the powerplay is a different call from choosing one for the middle overs, and West Indies have split those jobs between two left-armers. BuildXI asks you to make the same kind of call. You spin eleven real IPL squads from 2008 to 2025, take one player from each, and play fourteen league matches. The target is 14-0.