T20 World Cup 2024: Daren Sammy from the Caribbean aiming to defy history

Daren Sammy (Pic: File Pic)

Daren Sammy has to defy history to win again as a head coach after leading the West Indies to two Twenty20 World Cup titles as a captain.

In the first eight editions, no host has won the tournament on the home soil and Daren Sammy hopes to create history with the T20 World Cup 2024. The marquee event is set to begin in June and is jointly hosted by the USA and the West Indies.

In the 2012 final, Sri Lanka went closest to their title hunt but fell short against West Indies in Colombo. Sri Lankans were bowled out for 101 runs during the run chase of 138 runs, the win is remembered for the famous Gangnam Stayle celebrations by the WI players.

In 2016, West Indies again registered the title to their name during the final match against England at the Eden Gardens. Carlos Brathwaite was the man to guide WI to their second title. He smashed four consecutive sixes in Ben Stokes' over.

In the previous year, Daren Sammy was appointed as the head coach of West Indies' limited-overs squads. Johnson Charles and Andre Russell are the only two-time champions in the current Caribbean squad.

We know how to select winning teams, Sammy said in a news conference with Caribbean media to announce the squad. We've done it before and I think, as a selection group, we're really excited about it."

It's an exciting time, and this preparation did not start now. It started from the last World Cup in Australia," Sammy was quoted as saying by CNC3.

"What we've been able to do throughout the last year as a T20 group, the players we've exposed, has brought us to this moment, and I think we're about to knock it out of this world.'

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West Indies bowling great Curtly Ambrose was confident that the squad could play smart and consistent cricket to win the T20 World Cup 2024.

West Indies and England are the only teams to have won the title twice, and no host has ever won, he said, so all that is motivation for the guys to do well.

The last two T20 World Cups in the United Arab Emirates in 2021 and Australia in 2022 didn't go well for West Indies. Kieron Pollard-led team was eliminated in the group stage in the UAE with just a win. Nicholas Pooran's side didn't qualify for the main round in Australia the following year.

It was a setback for West Indies cricket, dating back to the late 1800s when a collection of mainly English-speaking Caribbean nations and territories began playing under a unified banner.

And, it's something Sammy's squad is determined to put right, coming off some solid individual performances in the Indian Premier League. Without the pressure of the captaincy, Pooran could be a key to success in the middle-order. The left-hander had an impressive outing in the IPL, scoring 499 runs at a strike rate of 178.21 for Lucknow Super Giants.

The absence of Sunil Narine, who helped Kolkata Knight Riders top the IPL 2024 standings this season with his batting and bowling exploits, will be difficult to cover.

Sammy said he'd had conversations with Narine since the last Caribbean Premier League season, but couldn't convince him into a West Indies comeback: As the news clearly stated, Narine is retired.

But, led by captain Rovman Powell, West Indies has enough batting firepower to challenge the leading teams and the advantage of playing in the CPL.

Young fast bowler Shamar Joseph, who has just played three T20s and is yet to make his T20 International debut, was selected ahead of Matthew Forde as the West Indies looked for extra speed in the bowling attack.

Shamar Joseph has the pace, he has skills with the new ball, Sammy said. Not saying Matthew Forde doesn't but when you look at the role, it makes it easier for us to now pick the personnel to fit that role.

West Indies will be playing its first two Group C games against Papua New Guinea and Uganda at Providence on June 2 and June 9 before taking on higher-ranked New Zealand and Afghanistan at Torouba and Gros Islet on June 13 and June 18. The top two teams from each of the four groups in the league stage will advance to Super 8.

The T20 World Cup 2024 starts June 1 with a North American rivalry between the US and Canada in Dallas and concludes with the final on June 29 at Bridgetown, Barbados.

(With AP Inputs)