Former Windies T20 skipper Darren Sammy insists he remains highly optimistic for the team’s future despite issues that have plagued the sport for the last couple of decades.
Past disputes between the players and administrators of the sport, combined with many poor performances on the field, have led critics to have little hope of the team regaining its status as world beaters.
With past regulations leading to the team’s senior players being unavailable for selection, the Windies missed out on the ICC Champions trophy and automatic qualification for the 2019 World Cup. The regional team must now seek to secure its spot at the tournament through a playoff in Zimbabwe next year.
While arguing that an amnesty that recently allowed senior players to return to the team was not enough to cure all the current ills, the former captain remained optimistic of its chances of making an appearance and the World Cup and admitted to being encouraged by recent performances.
“Hopefully (captain) Jason [Holder] and his men can go down to Zimbabwe in March and get to the finals, and assure that there won’t be another ICC event without West Indies,” Sammy told Espncricinfo.
“But the good thing about when you hit rock bottom, you can only go up from there. Every time I hear or see West Indies play I’m always optimistic, I’ve not lost that passion that something will happen.
“We’ve shown it over the years, the glimpses where – especially the last Test series in England where they called us all sorts of names, and we have a habit when people call us names to bounce back firing.” (SportsMax)
