Darren Sammy hopeful West Indies can end 24-year wait for ODI series win

West Indies head coach Darren Sammy is hopeful of ending his team's 24-year wait for an ODI series win in India. The Caribbean side, currently ranked 10th, will face India in a three-match series beginning in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday

Thiruvananthapuram: West Indies head coach Darren Sammy is hopeful of ending the team’s 24-year wait for an ODI series win in India when the three-match series against Shubman Gill’s side begins here on Sunday.

The last time West Indies won an ODI series in India was in 2002, when Carl Hooper was captain and the batting line-up included the likes of Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels.

---

“It’s been 24 years, we’ve not won a series here in India,” Sammy said ahead of the opening game.

“It’s a great opportunity for us as a team to come out here and challenge ourselves and measure up where we are in ODIs,” said Sammy, a two-time T20 World Cup-winning former captain.

“It’s a great opportunity for us, the players that we have, to come and put in a good show against India and look to win a series, something we’ve not done in 24 years,” the former all-rounder added.

West Indies are currently 10th in the ODI rankings, but Sammy believes the team has made significant progress under his leadership.

“If we have to look back at where we were and what we’ve been able to achieve as an ODI team, we’ve made some strides,” he said.

Shai Hope is the standout batter in the current West Indies set-up, with 19 ODI centuries, but Sammy believes several other players can make an impact against the top-ranked ODI side.

“Shai Hope is not the only one scoring hundreds. We’ve gotten hundreds from different players. Amir Jangoo, the way he’s played, we’ve seen a glimpse of Sherfane (Rutherford). I think in 2024-2025, we were looking for that type of form,” Sammy said.

Among the bowlers, pacer Alzarri Joseph has been in good form after helping Antigua win the Caribbean Premier League T20 title.

“Alzarri Joseph is back bowling well, just helped Antigua win a CPL title. So yes, we want to give everybody an opportunity in those three games,” Sammy said.

Sammy is also hopeful that 19-year-old wrist-spinner Vitel Lawes, who made his ODI debut against New Zealand a few months ago, can emerge as an X-factor for the side.

“Vitel, to me, he’s a find for us. What we saw in him that caused him to debut against New Zealand was all part of the planning and the processes we put in place. You’ve heard me for years talking about a wrist-spinner in the West Indies team,” Sammy said.

“He came in and he immediately had an impact on the bowling unit for us. Still got a long way to go but we will continue with his development through either playing games or the specific work we’ve put in place for him. He’s worked really well with Nikita Miller (spin bowling coach) and Ravi Rampaul here on tour,” he added.