Phil Simmons' journey as West Indies cricket team head coach has come to an end as the former player has been sacked by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). The board confirmed his termination on Tuesday, and team manager Joel Garner will take charge of the Caribbean team for the upcoming series against Pakistan in the UAE, which starts on Sept. 23.
Simmons, who enjoyed a good eight-year stint as Ireland's gaffer, was appointed as head coach of West Indies in March 2015.
His relation with the board seems to have played an important role in his termination. The former player was earlier suspended as head coach after he criticised the board's selection policy in September. Simmons was later reinstated in his position in November.
However, his removal from the position comes as a major surprise. It was under his guidance that the West Indies team managed to win the World T20 in emphatic style in March in India.
The WICB stated that the decision to sack him was taken on Saturday during the board of directors meeting. Though the board did not give much insight for his sacking, they hinted that "identified differences in culture and strategic approach" led to his removal.
"Effectively immediately, the WICB today announced it has separated from the Head Coach Phil Simmons. In a meeting of the Board of Directors, on Saturday, September 10, this decision was taken," WICB statement read.
"In recent times, based on the public pronouncements of the coach and the approach internally, we have identified differences in culture and strategic approach. The WICB would therefore like to thank the coach for his contribution and wishes him the best in his future endeavours."
The search for the new coach seems to have started as well.
