Shai Hope trended on Google after a dramatic last-second LBW review ended his innings in the final Test against New Zealand
He still enjoyed a strong 2025, becoming the first batter to score ODI hundreds against 13 teams
Hope also went unsold at the IPL 2026 auction, rounding off a year of contrasts
Shai Hope: Why Is West Indies Cricketer Trending Today? Explained
Shai Hope featured on Google Trends after a dramatic LBW review in the final Test against New Zealand. Despite that, he enjoyed a strong 2025 in ODIs and also made headlines after going unsold at the IPL 2026 auction
Summary
Shai Hope, the flamboyant West Indies cricketer, was trending on Google on Monday (December 22, 2025) even as the Caribbean ensemble crashed to a 323-run defeat in the third and final match against New Zealand at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
Chasing a mammoth 462-run target in the fourth innings, the Windies were dismissed for 138 all out just after Tea on Day 5. It marked the final outing for both teams this year, and the Windies will return home after a brutal tour of New Zealand, wherein they lost all three legs: 1-3 in T20Is (five matches), 3-0 in ODIs (three), and 2-0 (three).
Why Was Shai Hope Trending?
Hope was dismissed after a dramatic LBW review. The right-handed batter planted his front foot to fend off the last delivery of the 60th over, bowled by Ajaz Patel.
The review itself was taken with one second remaining, and the ball-tracking took some time to load. When it was finally displayed, three reds showed to the chagrin of the 32-year-old. It ended a painstaking forty-five-minute stay in the middle.
Hope, who recovered from food poisoning and batted at No. 9 on Day 4 for a seven-ball four, scored three runs from 78 balls in his second essay. Earlier in the drawn first Test, he braved a severe eye infection and scored 56 and 140 runs while batting in sunglasses.
Hope's ODI Feat
During the preceding ODIs, he became the first player to score hundreds against 13 different teams in the 50-over format, including against all eleven Full Member nations. He is also only the second West Indies player, after Chris Gayle, to score a century in all three formats.
He ended the 2025 calendar year with 1,760 runs in 42 matches and will be one of the contenders for the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award. In 2025, he scored 670 runs in 15 ODI matches at an average of 55.83, with two centuries.
A veteran of more than 250 internationals, Hope is currently the captain of the West Indies ODI cricket team.
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Unsold At IPL 2026 Auction
The wicketkeeper-batter from Barbados entered the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 player auction with a base price of INR 2 crore but failed find a buyer.
Delhi Capitals released him before the IPL 2025 mega auction. In IPL 2024, he scored 183 runs in nine games for DC.
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