ANTIGUA: The Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Friday, announced the appointments of their new head coaches – Darren Sammy and Andrey Coley – for their national men’s senior team in white-ball and red-ball formats respectively.
West Indies’ most successful T20I captain Sammy is up for a new role for his national side as the former all-rounder has been named the head coach of the white ball – ODIs and T20I – teams.
Meanwhile, former wicketkeeper batter Andrey Cole was named the head coach of the senior men’s red-ball teams.
After assuming the new role, Darren Sammy’s first assignment will be the three-match ODI Series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah in June.
Following this, West Indies will partake in ICC Men’s World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe, which will feature 10 teams including West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Oman, Nepal, USA and UAE.
Speaking on his appointment, Darren Sammy termed it a big challenge but at the same time is upbeat and looking forward to the opportunity.
“It will be a challenge but one that I’m ready for and excited about. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity, especially looking at the players we have and the impact that I believe I can have in the dressing room.
“I believe I will bring the same approach as I had as a player: the passion, the desire for success, and my undying love for West Indies cricket. When I look around there is an abundance of talent, and what I saw in South Africa in the white ball matches under new captains Shai Hope and Rovman Powell and the leadership provided by Andre Coley, there is great belief that we can do well.
“I’m looking forward to imparting my knowledge, my tactical acumen, my communication skills and my man-management skills. I get excited about putting the plans together and seeing the players execute them.”
It is worth mentioning here that Darren Sammy powered West Indies to two T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016.
Following his retirement from international cricket, the all-rounder represented several teams in different franchise leagues across the world. He has also coached teams in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
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