In a divided house, Sammy seeks unity of purpose
KOLKATA: From the highs of dominating world cricket with a team of exceptional quality which showed unity of purpose, West Indies have plunged to a state where internal strife often takes precedence despite struggling to perform. The team is plagued by contractual issues, which reared its ugly head 18 months ago and saw the squad pull out midway through the India tour. The World Twenty20 is the Caribbean side’s first trip to India since those tumultous events.
The backdrop hasn’t changed much, neither has West Indies’ poor international performances. The only saving grace is that this bunch of players is still good at T20 cricket, and the team have a WT20 trophy to vouch for that. Even in the shortest format, they seem to be in a constant rebuild mode, and had it not been for their T20 experts, seen more as freelancers, West Indies won’t pose the threat they do now.
Chris Gayle is 36, Samuel Badree and Marlon Samuels are 35 while Dwayne Bravo and captain Darren Sammy are 32. Given that the next WT20 will be held only after four years, this is likely to be the last chance for this core group to win in a format they have excelled in. Sammy says that will provide extra motivation. VERY IMPORTANT “This event means a lot for us as a group. The next World T20 is in 2020 and a few of our experienced guys won’t be part of that, so it’s important. It would be mean a lot to us and our people at home,” Sammy said here on Tuesday.
For most of the season, a Gayle or Samuels don’t travel with the team. So, there’s always a question mark over how the team bonds. “The beauty is that as captain I don’t have to tell Gayle, Bravo, Samuels or Badree how to go about their job. If all of us come to the party, I’m sure in the way we know how to play, we will be a force to reckon with,” said Sammy. “Once you are out on the cricket field, you should not be worried about contracts and other stuff.”