West Indies no one-man team, says Sammy

Dhaka, March 17 (IANS/CMC) Captain Darren Sammy has reiterated that the West Indies are not a one-man team, and that it will take a team effort to successfully defend their title in the Twenty20 World Cup.

Speaking after arriving here Sunday, Sammy noted that despite the presence of big-hitting opener Chris Gayle, the team would need contributions from every member to do well in the March 16-April 6 tournament, reports CMC.

“Chris to me is the most destructive T20 batsman in the world,” Sammy said.

“It’s a great asset for us having him in the side but like in Sri Lanka when we won the title, it took a total team effort. The key players, different guys chipped in in different games.

“It’s no different this time. We’ve got to play as a team, we’ve got to gel well together and hopefully performances will come from the key players.”

Gayle is the most sought after T20 batsman in World cricket and has plied his trade in the cash-rich Indian Premier League and other franchise leagues across the globe, with much success.

Much will defend on the big-hitting left-hander but the West Indies also have Dwayne Smith, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo, all seasoned international T20 players.

Sammy said with these quality players, the Windies believe they could make history in coming weeks.

“We have come here to win again. We believe we have the firepower and the belief to do it again,” he pointed out.

“No team has ever retained the ICC World T20 title and we want to be the first team to achieve that feat.”

With the women’s competition running parallel to the men’s tournament, Sammy was hopeful that the West Indies women could also make their mark by also winning their first global title.

“We spoke to some of the girls and they are really upbeat… We are also backing our women’s team to do the job.

“They are a great group and we (men’s team) are backing them to also deliver and make it a ‘West Indies double’ here in Bangladesh. That would be great – something that has never been done before.”

West Indies men face England in a warm-up game in Futullah Tuesday before opening their campaign against India Sunday.