‘We’ve sent a strong message’: Daren Sammy on West Indies’ rise ahead of India decider

West Indies cricket team (PTI Photo)

Bengaluru: A decade ago, T20 cricket conjured images of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Evin Lewis. Few will forget how Marlon Samuels and Carlos Brathwaite lit up the Eden Gardens as West Indies stormed to the ICC World T20 title in 2016.The road has never been easy for Caribbean cricket. The lure of franchise leagues and their lucrative pay packages has complicated the task of keeping its best players available for international duty. The players can hardly be blamed. Just before their tour of India began last month, Cricket West Indies announced a 25% cut in international players’ retainer fees and suspended this year’s men’s Super50 and women’s T20 Blaze tournaments because of a financial crunch.

Against that backdrop, their 1-2 defeat in the ODI series was far from dispiriting. They have since taken the five-match T20I series to the decider. Head coach Daren Sammy, captain of the 2016 World T20-winning side, put it that it was “box-office TV stuff”.“For us, what success means may be different to the viewers,” said the former allrounder. “For us, success is progress. In spite of all the challenges that we face, if we could come here and compete against the best team in the world – the defending champs – we tick boxes that keep us in the conversation.”

Sammy said the players had refused to let setbacks define them. “Before the series started, we all knew the big cuts and everything that happened. We’re still doing well and continue to be a team that brings entertainment to the world when we are doing well. It’s not because of us, it’s in spite of all the challenges that we face. The way we’ve played, we’ve sent a strong message. If we could be consistent, the players that we have in the dressing room, they go out there and give their all.

When they do that, we can compete and win games against anybody in the world.”For Sammy, West Indies’ value extends beyond results. Their brand of cricket, he believes, still draws viewers and lifts spirits across the Caribbean. “The fact that we make cricket really competitive is good for viewership. When the West Indies does well, it lightens the mood of every person in the Caribbean,” he said.