West Indies Head Coach Daren Sammy has called for greater financial backing for Caribbean cricket, hoping his team’s 2–2 T20I series draw against India will strengthen its position in discussions with potential sponsors and stakeholders.
Sammy made the appeal after rain washed out the fifth and final T20I in Bengaluru, leaving West Indies with a share of the series against the two-time defending T20 World Cup champions.
“My mom always said, you must have a care factor. No matter what you do in life, you should never lose that care factor. I think we’re in a position where we need somebody to put a shoulder around West Indies cricket — financially, that is,” Sammy told reporters.
Financial appeal comes amid Cricket West Indies cost cuts
Sammy’s comments come as Cricket West Indies (CWI) takes steps to address persistent financial pressures.
As previously reported by cricexec, the governing body has reduced international player retainer fees by 25% while retaining 12-month contracts, and suspended the men’s Super50 and women’s T20 Blaze competitions in their existing formats to address mounting financial pressures.
The measures illustrate the financial constraints facing CWI as it seeks to sustain its international programmes and domestic cricket operations across the Caribbean.
Sammy sees commercial opportunity in India series
West Indies lost the preceding ODI series 2–1 but won the second and fourth T20Is, keeping the five-match contest level before rain prevented a deciding match. The result ended India’s run of home T20I series victories dating back to 2022.
“Series like this, here in India against the best team in the world, puts us in a conversation closer to that,” Sammy said.
The West Indies Head Coach also contrasted the support systems available to India with the circumstances facing Caribbean cricket.
“India will win the World Cup every time they go somewhere in an ICC event. They expect to win. It is because of all the things they’ve put in place. When the West Indies goes somewhere, we’ve got to perform in spite of. Because and in spite…there are two different words,” he added.
Sammy expanded on that distinction while discussing the potential commercial impact of the series.
“One is that things have been put in place. The other one, in spite, is because of the challenges. But we are still doing that. I think we’ve taken a big step. Hopefully, the conversations with stakeholders and the sponsors could be a little bit better after this series. Some investment comes where it could put us in a position to be better all round,” he noted.
West Indies seek to build on competitive showing
For Sammy, who captained West Indies to T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2016, the drawn series offered encouragement about the team’s direction despite the challenges surrounding Caribbean cricket.
“I’m pretty sure when the series started, we probably didn’t have a chance. That was just the opinion of others. We don’t ever take for granted where we are as a team, the challenges that we face. We just look to make little strides. I think after this series, we’ve taken a massive step. Hopefully, that type of energy could help us finish the year on a positive note,” Sammy concluded.
The challenge for West Indies cricket now is whether that progress on the field can translate into meaningful commercial backing at a time when CWI is under pressure to reduce costs.
