West Indies captain Shai Hope is heading back to the Hobart Hurricanes, signing on for the full BBL|16 season.
The 32-year-old wicketkeeper-batter played five games during the Hurricanes’ title-winning 2024-25 campaign before overseas duties cut his stint short.
This time he will be available for the whole tournament, including finals.
Hope leads the West Indies in both one-day and Twenty20 cricket.
He has made more than 1,700 runs in T20 internationals at a strike rate above 136.
His signing follows the retirement of Matthew Wade, which left the Hurricanes short at the top of the order and behind the stumps.
Cricket Tasmania high performance boss Salliann Beams said Hope was a priority target.
“Following Matthew’s retirement, we knew we needed to add an experienced player who could have an impact at the top of the order and also provide us with another quality wicketkeeping option and Shai ticks both those boxes,” Beams said.
“Importantly, having Shai available for the entire tournament gives us some real stability. He already knows our environment and a number of the players, so we’re really excited to welcome him back to Hobart.”
Head coach Jeff Vaughan said the club went into the off-season hunting spin options and top-order batting.
“So the [Adam] Zampa into Hope double is a great outcome for us,” Vaughan said.
He said Hope would likely bat around number three, where he played two seasons ago.
“He’s pretty calm. He’s a pretty cool dude,” Vaughan said.
“Brings a lot of calmness around the dressing room and around the environment.”
Vaughan said the club would work out closer to the season whether Hope or Ben McDermott takes the gloves.
Hope said he was looking forward to returning.
“I really enjoyed my time in Hobart a couple of seasons ago, so I’m very excited to be coming back to the Hurricanes for BBL|16,” Hope said.
“The club has obviously enjoyed some great success since I was last there and I’m looking forward to getting back to Hobart, contributing wherever I can and doing everything I can to help the team have another successful season.”
The Hurricanes open their season against the Brisbane Heat at Ninja Stadium on December 17.
