West Indies head coach Daren Sammy believes his team’s pace attack has the variety and depth to challenge India in the upcoming two-match Test series. He feels the quartet of Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Anderson Phillip, and Jayden Seales, backed by allrounder Justin Greaves, has what it takes to claim 20 wickets in subcontinental conditions.
Drawing Inspiration from New Zealand
Sammy said the team is motivated by New Zealand’s 3-0 sweep over India in late 2024.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 — 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒅 — 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 20 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂. 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕,” 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
He added that the focus will be on maintaining consistent lengths while adapting slightly to Indian pitches.
Squad Adjustments and Key Inclusions
The squad saw some bold decisions with former captain Kraigg Brathwaite dropped, while Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Alick Athanaze earned recalls. Sammy highlighted Chanderpaul’s strong domestic form and spin-playing ability as reasons for his return.
“𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 40 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏,” 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅.
The spin department features Jomel Warrican, captain Roston Chase, and uncapped veteran Khary Pierre, who was rewarded for topping the WI Championship with consistency and durability.
Sammy concluded by stressing that the team will tour India with a winning mindset, not just to compete.
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