KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) — Former West Indies cricketer Lawrence Rowe strongly believes the regional side has the potential to win the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The Windies have made an impressive start to the tournament thus far by comfortably winning all three of their Group C matches to qualify for the Super Eights.

They will now face off against India, South Africa and Zimbabwe in Group 1, with the top two finishers assured a spot in the semi-finals.

In an interview on Isports on i95.5 FM in Trinidad, Rowe, who played 30 Test matches for the West Indies between 1972 and 1980, said he was impressed with the team’s performance on the subcontinent.

“They’ve been playing fairly well, and I always tend to feel that in the shorter version of the game we always have a shot.

“We have the type of players who can do their thing well in that format of the game, we bat very deep, and I think they have a big chance of winning the World Cup,” the 77-year-old Rowe said.

He said he was particularly amazed by the performances of batsmen Sherfane Rutherford and Shimron Hetmyer.

“The batting has impressed me so far, especially Rutherford who has settled in his role so well, and Hetymer coming up the order and batting at number three. He has given the team a few good starts coming in at number three but Rutherford is a man that I have focused on because he’s measured, and tends to play himself in, and take his time early on in his inning. And when the time comes to go, he goes really hard and heavy — and he’s done really well so far.

“Hopefully — if he plays as well as he has been playing— I really believe that they can win this thing and they can win it all,” Rowe said.

In the bowling department, Rowe said he was impressed by the maturity of Gudakesh Motie.

He said the left-arm spinner, who had endured a tough 2025, had returned with a plethora of variations in his bowling.

“I’m happy for Motie who has developed. I’ve noticed he has developed a back-of-the-hand ball, which is very good that some variety has come into his game.

“The bowling seems alright. We have to admit that in the T20 game people are going to get hit out of the park whether they bowl good or bad. It carries a great degree of luck and how well we put it all together on the day, each guy playing for each other on the day, and if we put it together well enough, we have a chance,” Rowe said.

“The team seems confident now and they’re going into the Super Eights– the knockout stage — so it’s everybody’s guess and everybody’s game, but they have as well a chance as anybody else.”

West Indies’ Sherfane Rutherford plays a shot during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup group-stage match between England and West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 11, 2026. (Photo: AFP)