Sammy: West Indies need a financial hand around the shoulder

‘Even I'm trying to find ways to get the investors,’ Sammy said.

In the wake of West Indies’ 2-2 T20 International series draw with India, the conversation returned to Cricket West Indies’ precarious financial position. With CWI CEO Chris Dehring never shying away from the difficulty of pitching an underperforming team to potential sponsors, head coach Daren Sammy first said he hoped a positive result against the world champions would be commercially beneficial.

“In this series, in spite of all the challenges, the guys really gave their all,” Sammy began. “And the Indian fans, they were thoroughly entertained. And I'm pretty sure it gives President Kishore (Shallow) and CEO Dehring a better voice in trying to voice West Indies’ cause,” Sammy said.

The St. Lucian, who took the reins in all three formats in April of 2025, transitioning from white-ball coach, also revealed that his role in helping to ease the team’s current woes is not limited to on-field results.

“Even I'm trying to find ways to get the investors,” he said. “It's no secret; it's been going on for decades now. You heard the CEO speak about things that happened in 1997 that kind of have us in this situation,” Sammy said, referencing the ICC vote that abolished guaranteed touring fees for visiting teams in bilaterals.

But as I said, I think it's important to understand what West Indies cricket means, not only to the region, but to the world and to the game. The amount of success home boards had (when West Indies visited). I heard the stories of guys spending three, four months in a place, touring, playing warm-up matches, spreading their talent by the way they played, and the fan base that they created and the revenue they generated for so many people. 

“My mom always says, 'You must have a care factor, no matter what you do in life; human nature, you should never lose that care factor.' And I think we're in a position where we need somebody to put a [hand around the] shoulder of West Indies cricket financially, that is. And a series like this here in India against the best team in the world puts us in a conversation [to get] closer to that.”

Sammy went on to highlight the current disparity in infrastructure between the West Indies and India, which often drives both narrative and reality.

“India, 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 West Indies go somewhere, it is 'We've got to perform in spite of.’ Because and in spite of. One (because) is [when] things have been put in place. The other one (in spite of) is [despite] the challenges; we are still doing it. So I think we've taken a big step, and hopefully the conversations with stakeholders and the conversations with sponsors can be a little bit better after this series.”