When the ICC World T20 2016 started, no one thought that West Indies will go on to lift silverware for the second time since the inception of the tournament. However, Darren Sammy & co. did just that, having beaten England to lift the World T20 2016 trophy at Eden Gardens.
After the brilliant win, Sammy took time to slam the critics of his team and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), who he felt gave his side no help during the tournament.
Sammy, particularly, took aim at commentator Mark Nicholas, who had referred to the West Indies players as "cricketers without brains" prior to the start of the tournament.
"People were wondering whether we will play this tournament or not as we had issues with the board, Mark Nicholas called us players with no brain," Sammy was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
The West Indies captain also revealed the struggles they had to go through before the start of the ICC event. They did not even have jerseys. It was because of the new manager of the West Indies side, Rawle Lewis, they finally managed to get everything they needed.
"We had a new manager in Rawle Lewis, who has never managed a team before. We had no uniforms, no printing," said Sammy. "The trouble he went through to just get us in this uniform. I got to give credit to the entire team here."
Sammy thanked the Grenada Prime Minister Keith Mitchell for his inspirational message ahead of their final against England. He also took another jibe at the WICB, by saying that they are yet to hear from the board.
"I really want to thank him (Mitchell). He sent a very inspiring message for the team and I'm yet to hear from our own cricket board. That's very disappointing," Sammy added.
All this might not have been because, it all looked bleak for West Indies when they started off the run chase against England. They lost three early wickets and were certainly on the backfoot.
Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo steadied the ship, but England kept troubling the West Indian batsmen at the crease.
Samuels, however, kept finding the odd boundary to keep pressure at bay. At the end, WI required 19 runs from the last over and Carlos Brathwaite finished it off by hitting four sixes off Ben Stokes from the first four deliveries.
West Indies captain Darren Sammy was ecstatic and he expressed his delight at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"Firstly I want to thank the almighty. Really happy for this win, it's something we'll cherish for a long time. We have a few match winners, nobody give us a chance, every game somebody stepped up - good to see Carlos play like that in his debut World Cup," Sammy said.
"Shows the T20 depth we have in the Caribbean, hopefully we will continue to improve."
Gayle had mentioned prior to the semifinal against India that if he fails, West Indies have enough arsenal to step up when needed. Sammy reiterated that statement after winning the World T20 match.
"All of us came together, these 15 men put adversity aside, play this type of cricket in front of such passionate fans. It was tremendous. I want to thank the coaching team, Phil Simmons. We had a new manager in this tournament," Sammy said.
Sammy acknowledged the performance of his side and dedicated this win to the people back in the Caribbean.
"Got to give credit to the entire team here. This is for all the fans in the Caribbean. I don't know when I'm going to be playing for West Indies again, I want to thank my team, thanks my coaching staff. This is for the Champion," Sammy stated.
