Darren Sammy: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t

Darren Sammy is either in the playing XI or not.

What he said:

“First of all, I should get into the eleven.”

Darren Sammy, former West Indies skipper, is quite pragmatic about his selection for the ODI series against India.

He continues to be in the thick of things despite retiring from Test cricket following his sacking as skipper.

He said:

“I am enjoying my life, I am enjoying my cricket at the moment. I said when I retired that the team was moving in a new direction, they had no space for me. Cricket is not about me I have always said so. It is time for West Indies cricket to move on with a new captain Denesh (Ramdin) and I am happy.

No regrets, I am just happy to still be playing one-day and T20s for West Indies and that is what I am focusing on.”

On leading the West Indies:

“(Being) the captain of West Indies is tough. Captaining any side is tough but captaining West Indies we have players from different islands, different backgrounds, different culture…it has always been tough. For me, that side of things, I don’t miss it but I continue to be a leader in the team and play my role how I am supposed to play it.

Now we have three different captains. Tests and one-day that pressure goes to (Dwayne) Bravo and Ramdin. I just wait for when it is T20. But I try to be a leader in one-day and T20 cricket.”

What he really meant:

“Let’s not count my chickens before they’re hatched. First things first: Am I going to be in the playing eleven?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Batting in the nets is good enough for me.”