LONDON, CMC – Discarded Twenty20 captain Darren Sammy has supported the view of two of his former teammates that the sacking of head coach Phil Simmons has negatively impacted West Indies’ performance in the ongoing series against Pakistan.
Speaking here this week, the 32-year-old criticised the West Indies Cricket Board’s decision, noting such actions had now become a trend, and said he could tell the Caribbean side was not in a “happy mood” in the United Arab Emirates.
“It’s disappointing but not surprising,” the two-time T20 World Cup-winning skipper was quoted as saying.
“It’s been a trend of how my former employers operate. It was sad. They will say it did not have an effect on the team but, from the pictures being posted on social media, I could tell my team was not in a happy mood.”
Simmons was sacked even as the squad departed the Caribbean for the UAE last month, over what the WICB described as “differences in culture and strategic approach.”
West Indies subsequently produced a plethora of limp performances as they suffered 3-0 whitewashes in both the T20 and the One-Day International series.
They have since also conceded the three-Test series where they trail 2-0, with one game remaining in Sharjah starting Sunday.
Earlier this month, all-rounders Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo who contested the limited overs series, said the sacking of Simmons had demoralised the players and created chaos in the camp.
Sammy, who was also fired in August despite leading the Windies to their second T20 World Cup last April, described the entire situation as “a mess.”
“Everything in life happens for a reason. I am still on a high. I refuse to let people dictate my mood,” he said.
“It is disappointing to win a World Cup and you’ve not played international cricket after that. To remove the winning World Cup coach [as well], it’s just a mess. I am not about fighting it anymore.”
While selectors said Sammy’s dropping was due to his lack of individual performances, it has been widely speculated that the St Lucian all-rounder paid the price for his criticism of the WICB just moments following the Windies’ capture of the T20 World Cup in India.
However, despite all that has transpired since, Sammy said he did not regret his decision then to blast the board.
“Put me on that podium again and I will do it even better. I believe a man has to speak his heart. It was just an extension of what my team went through flowing from me.”
