West Indies T20 Captain Darren Sammy said Friday the West Indies team, former T20 World Cup champions, are a threat to the other teams in this year’s competition and will be looking to utilize all their experience in order to reclaim their title.
During an interview at the 704 Sports Lounge, the 32-year-old St Lucian said his West Indies side, which is tailor-made for T20 cricket, will rely heavily on their world renowned T20 stars the likes of Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Keiron Pollard, Andre Russell, Samuel Badree and Dwayne Bravo among others, players who he believes will pose a serious threat to the other teams come March when the tournament bowls off.
“We are the number one T20 team in the world so the tag comes with the pressure”, said Sammy who was aware that his team’s number one ranking in 20/20 cricket puts them under some amount of pressure, especially heading to India as they seek to win back the title they won in 2012 when they beat current champs, Sri Lanka.
“When we won the T20 we were underdogs, when we went to Bangladesh we were underdogs, so I think this year will be a test of strength because whether you’re number one or eight, when you go into the tournament you go in with goals.”
With 60 T20 international matches under his belt, the all-rounder said he was happy to lead the side, especially at a point when they are ranked number one in that format.
“Being named captain was an honor, the team was hard to pick especially how our guys have been performing in T20 lately but I think the selectors did a good job and I’m really excited about the prospects of winning the Cup in India,” he declared.
Although Sammy said he would not “Stand and guarantee a title win,” he explained that “The last three or four tournaments we went into them looking to win and the fact that we have some of the best T20 players in the world so I think it’s possible that this team can go out and win the competition.”
The St Lucia Zouks skipper also said the West Indies are hopeful for the return of off-spinner Narine who will look to rectify his bowling action and have himself cleared to play, following his ban from international cricket.
“Sunil has been a very important member in our limited overs team whether it be T20 or ODI, especially in India where he has done so well. When Narine comes on no matter what the run rate is, it drops.
“So to have him and Samuel Badree, that’s the number one and two T20 bowlers in the world along with Gayle, Pollard, Russell whose game has exploded over the last year or so and the experience of Dwayne Bravo makes us a good team, so to have Narine is a bigger plus for us.”
He continued, “It has come to a point where all the guys are seasoned T20 players and have understood their roles in the team. It’s just a few inches give and take for players who are coming into the team like a Jason Holder who is playing his first T20 World Cup and Darren Bravo who has not played too many T20 games for us.
“It’s just about finding the right balance, but like I said, I have full confidence in the squad that will be representing us in India and I believe we could win,” he ended.
West Indies T20 full squad: Darren Sammy (Captain), Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons and Jerome Taylor.
