Cricket West Indies (CWI) Friday announced the appointment of head coaches for their national men's senior team in white-ball and red-ball formats.
Darren Sammy, two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain of the West Indies, has been appointed the head coach of the white-ball format team. Whereas, former wicketkeeper batter Andre Coley will take charge as the head coach of red-ball format team.
Sammy will take charge immediately as West Indies are scheduled to play three ODIs against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah next month. It will be his first assignment as the national team's head coach.
Later on, West Indies will feature in ICC World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe. A 10-team tournament will be played in June-July this year. West Indies alongside Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Oman, Nepal, USA and UAE will compete in the qualifiers.
On his appointment, Sammy said: "It will be a challenge but one that I’m ready for and excited about. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity, especially looking at the players we have and the impact that I believe I can have in the dressing room. I believe I will bring the same approach as I had as a player: the passion, the desire for success, and my undying love for West Indies cricket. When I look around there is an abundance of talent, and what I saw in South Africa in the white ball matches under new captains Shai Hope and Rovman Powell and the leadership provided by Andre Coley, there is great belief that we can do well. I’m looking forward to imparting my knowledge, my tactical acumen, my communication skills and my man-management skills. I get excited about putting the plans together and seeing the players execute them."
It must be noted here that West Indies won T20 World Cups in 2012 and 2016 under the leadership of Sammy. In 2016, Sammy led West Indies to the World Cup triumph in India.
After the national team's departure, Sammy represented several franchises in league cricket across the world. Later on, he coached teams in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He also led Zalmi to their only PSL title back in 2017.