Upbeat West Indies skipper Darren Sammy confident of retaining World T20 title

Darren Sammy (L) and Dwayne Bravo

After guiding his team to the semi-final with some match winning knocks, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy now aims to retain the ICC World T20 title. West Indies play against Sri Lanka in the semi-finals of the ICC World T20 on Thursday. The Caribbean giants previously defeated Sri Lanka in the finals of the 2012 T20 World Cup.

The big hitting all-rounder said that the confidence they exude is because of their impressive track record in the format. The 30-year-old was quoted as saying by SkySports: “We left the Caribbean with that (winning the event) as the motivating factor for us.”

He added: “In the last World Cup, the mission was to win the World Cup. This year it’s to retain or defend the title. It’s something no team has done before. We are very confident we can do it.

“Once we play the brand of cricket we played in the last three games, there is every possibility we can.”

Sammy also believes that the fast-paced format of the game is tailor-made for them. With power-hitters like Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels and slow bowlers like Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree, West Indies have troubled the opposition in the spin-friendly tracks of Bangladesh.

The skipper, when asked on the team’s momentum, said: “Twenty20 is all about momentum and seizing the right opportunity. So far we’ve been able to do that and hopefully we can do that against Sri Lanka.”

He added: “Eight of our players play in the Twenty20 leagues around the world. I guess we love that format and the type of players we have in the dressing room are probably suited for that format.”