T20 World Cup 2021: Darren Sammy picks West Indies as favorites to lift trophy

Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy has picked his favourites for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. The World Cup-winning skipper picked West Indies, while also clearing why this is not a biased selection. He explained the strength of the current Caribbean players who make up their T20 squad.

The former cricketer, who is currently in the United Kingdom and was on the commentary panel of Sky Sports for the Hundred, said that he feels the Windies are an overwhelming favourites snatch the title this time around. He also highlighted the successful runs which the West Indies team has had in the last three tournaments. 

“It’s a no brainer for me – West Indies all the way,” said Sammy in an ICC Digital Show. “When you look at West Indies, and people might say I’m sounding biased, but in the last three tournaments we’ve managed to get to the final four, winning two out of them,” said Sammy.

In 2012 in Sri Lanka, West Indies defeated the Sri Lankan team under the leadership of Sammy. He then went on to lead the team to their semi-final run in Bangladesh, where they lost to Sri Lanka and rain in Dhaka. In 2016, they went on to win another title in India, defeating India and England in the knockout stages. 

Darren Sammy picks Andre Russell as Player of the tournament candidate

Speaking about the strength of the West Indies team, Sammy said, “Our players, the calibre of players we have – when you look at captain Pollard, he’s back, the Universe Boss Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Evin Lewis, I could go on a long list of guys who can just take the attack to you.”

Furthermore, Sammy was asked about who will get the most runs in the tournament. He said that it should be someone who bats in the top three while naming Virat Kohli. But, he went on to say that he feels it doesn’t matter who wins the title of most runs, as he is more interested in the man of the tournament trophy. 

He pointed out Andre Russell as someone who could bag the title. “I’m more interested in who is going to be the ‘Player of the Tournament. Somebody like Andre Russell, who bowls and bats and comes in at crucial times, will come out with that title,” said Sammy.