Are West Indies really missing Ackeem Auguste in India?

West Indies made 247 for 3 in the fourth T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and won by 24 runs, so the series goes to Bengaluru level at two apiece, and the regret doing the rounds is that Ackeem Auguste, out injured, is the young batter who would have enjoyed these pitches most. Our ratings take a cooler view. They place him 142nd of 184 men's T20 batters, a long way from the batter West Indies could not do without.

Is Ackeem Auguste a real talent?

His case rests on his scoring rate, which in men's T20s from October 2024 to October 2026 stands at 146.2 against 130.1 for top-seven batters, and when it comes off it comes off quickly, as it did with 63 from 34 balls for St Lucia Kings against Barbados Tridents in August. Staying in is the problem, because that Barbados innings sat in a CPL run of 18, 0 and 6 before it and 13 after it, and his four innings for West Indies before that, against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, brought a top score of 24. A left-hander who scores that fast earns his SA20 place, and whether he turns it into a settled role is the open question, because the batters who did travel chased 252 in the second T20I without him.

What makes India so hard to beat at home?

India have not lost a home T20I series since February 2019, and that record is simply what being the best T20 side in the world looks like once the fixtures pile up, home or away. Our ratings have them top of the men's T20 list. The gap has narrowed in a fortnight, though, from the first T20I, where India knocked off 172 for the loss of two wickets inside 15 overs, to the fourth, where West Indies batted first and India never caught up. India have lost two of their last ten T20s, both to West Indies and both in this series.

Our call for the Chinnaswamy decider

India lead the head to head 20-10 across 31 T20Is, and our call for Saturday gives them a 58% chance, their lowest of the series, so the streak should survive, though only just. As for Auguste, the answer is no: West Indies are not missing him. A top order that has beaten the best side in the world twice in a week has no vacancy for a batter our ratings rank so low, and the SA20 is where he should go to earn one.