Sammy believes Hope can elevate Windies’ white-ball teams

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC):

WEST INDIES head coach Daren Sammy has earmarked Shai Hope as the best person to elevate the One-Day International and T20 teams to the next level.

The 31-year-old Hope was announced as T20 captain on Monday by Cricket West Indies (CWI), replacing Rovman Powell who had served in the role since 2023.

Speaking during CWI’s quarterly press conference, Sammy said there had been comprehensive discussions surrounding promoting Hope to T20 captain.

“To some of us on the outside, it might be surprising, but, to us on the inside of the cricket arena, it’s not just something that we came up with and just throw at the public.

“We, at the management and coaching level of the West Indies, we are quite meticulous in how we go about doing things,” Sammy said.

“It is important to note that we’ve had conversations with Rovman just before the World Cup, just after the World Cup, and leading to this point, on some of the things that we want to achieve as a team.”

He said, while Powell had achieved success during his time as captain, they had identified Hope as the man to lead the white-ball teams to higher heights.

“I would like to commend Rovman … what we’ve been able to achieve as a T20 team under his leadership has been somewhat exciting and very productive.

“However, in a world that’s ever changing in terms of how you can improve, I’ve spoken about us becoming a championship team and not more or less a series-winning team, and I strongly believe in that, that we have what it takes to win in World Cups, we’ve done it before … .” Sammy said.

“For me and my staff, from a leadership standpoint, it is important to understand what and who will take us there, and, at this moment, after conversations that we’ve had with what Shai Hope has done and the culture that we’ve been able to build in the ODI format and how I see him improve and mature as a leader, I think, for this next juncture in our white-ball team, I think it’s a decision that will bring stability, continuity in the way we want to do things and the way we want to play, and Shai Hope is the person we’ve earmarked to do that.”