West Indies cricket star Darren Sammy has mentioned that the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is not keen to have him as the T20 captain of the side anymore, and that he has been relinquished of his duties with immediate effect. Sammy, 32, mentioned in a video that the cricket board phoned and informed him of its decision during a 30-second call.
The cricketer is, however, not retiring from ODIs and T20Is as yet.
Sammy has been one of the most successful captains of West Indies in recent times as he led the side to two ICC World T20 titles, in 2012 and 2016. The all-rounder was appointed the skipper of the Caribbean side in 2011, and besides the two WT20 titles, his other big achievement remains winning the ICC Champions trophy against England in 2004.
In a rather emotional video he posted on Facebook, Sammy thanked fans for their support and mentioned about the present Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2016) season, before stating that he would not remain the captain anymore as the WICB has said that the cricketer's "performances have not merited selection in the squad".
Sammy recently left the WICB red-faced after he mentioned in the ICC WT20 2016 final post-match conference that the board didn't support the team in their WT20 campaign and it was all due to the performances of the players that they were successful.
Full statement:
"Six years ago I was asked to captain West Indies, a task which I fought [and] would be the biggest challenge in my career, in my life," Sammy said. "A task which I know would be so difficult but guess what...I took it head on. I embraced the challenge, I embraced the difficulty. I turn up at the office which is my playground, the cricket field, every day and put in the work.
"I started off with Ottis Gibson [then West Indies coach]. I want to thank you buddy for believing in me and now it has ended up with Phil [Simmons]. To my players all over the years, who've been part of the team and who've been under my captaincy, I want to thank you all for all the support. We've had our ups and downs but I have never given up hope, I have never stopped believing in myself and in the team. That is what I was about as captain - trying to instill positive, never-say-die attitude into my players. The result we won two World Cups and I want to thank all of you."
"I got a call yesterday morning, it was probably 30 seconds, from the chairman of selectors telling me that they've reviewed the captaincy of T20 and I won't be captain anymore of the T20 team, [and] my performances have not merited selection in the squad," Sammy said in the video.
"That's okay, I've always believed West Indies cricket is not about Darren Sammy. They are looking to the future and I wanna wish the new captain - I don't know if it's out yet so I won't call any names - all the best as he looks to lead West Indies cricket and take it forward.
"Obviously, throughout my captaincy, winning the two [T20] World Cups has been the highlight. And these memories I will cherish for a long time. This is not me retiring from one-day or T20, it's just me thanking the fans and my players and the coaches I've worked with and WICB for...yeah, letting me lead the side for the last six years. But for now the captaincy has come to an end and thank you people.
"I just know I played with my heart and soul whenever I stepped out on the cricket field."
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