T20 World Cup 2024: Daren Sammy from the Caribbean aiming to defy history

Daren Sammy has to defy history to win again as a head coach after leading the West Indies to two Twenty20 World Cup titles as a captainIn the first eight editions no host has won the tournament on the home soil and Daren Sammy hopes to create history with the T20 World Cup 2024 The marquee event is set to begin in June and is jointly hosted by the USA and the West IndiesIn the 2012 final Sri Lanka went closest to their title hunt but fell short against West Indies in Colombo Sri Lankans were bowled out for 101 runs during the run chase of 138 runs the win is remembered for the famous Gangnam Stayle celebrations by the WI playersIn 2016 West Indies again registered the title to their name during the final match against England at the Eden Gardens Carlos Brathwaite was the man to guide WI to their second title He smashed four consecutive sixes in Ben Stokes overIn the previous year Daren Sammy was appointed as the head coach of West Indies limitedovers squads Johnson Charles and Andre Russell are the only twotime champions in the current Caribbean squadWe know how to select winning teams Sammy said in a news conference with Caribbean media to announce the squad Weve done it before and I think as a selection group were really excited about itIts an exciting time and this preparation did not start now It started from the last World Cup in Australia Sammy was quoted as saying by CNC3What weve been able to do throughout the last year as a T20 group the players weve exposed has brought us to this moment and I think were about to knock it out of this worldAlso ReadBatting maestro Sachin Tendulkar casts ballot bats for youth to voteWest Indies bowling great Curtly Ambrose was confident that the squad could play smart and consistent cricket to win the T20 World Cup 2024West Indies and England are the only teams to have won the title twice and no host has ever won he said so all that is motivation for the guys to do wellThe last two T20 World Cups in the United Arab Emirates in 2021 and Australia in 2022 didnt go well for West Indies Kieron Pollardled team was eliminated in the group stage in the UAE with just a win Nicholas Poorans side didnt qualify for the main round in Australia the following yearIt was a setback for West Indies cricket dating back to the late 1800s when a collection of mainly Englishspeaking Caribbean nations and territories began playing under a unified bannerAnd its something Sammys squad is determined to put right coming off some solid individual performances in the Indian Premier League Without the pressure of the captaincy Pooran could be a key to success in the middleorder The lefthander had an impressive outing in the IPL scoring 499 runs at a strike rate of 17821 for Lucknow Super GiantsThe absence of Sunil Narine who helped Kolkata Knight Riders top the IPL 2024 standings this season with his batting and bowling exploits will be difficult to coverSammy said hed had conversations with Narine since the last Caribbean Premier League season but couldnt convince him into a West Indies comeback As the news clearly stated Narine is retiredBut led by captain Rovman Powell West Indies has enough batting firepower to challenge the leading teams and the advantage of playing in the CPLYoung fast bowler Shamar Joseph who has just played three T20s and is yet to make his T20 International debut was selected ahead of Matthew Forde as the West Indies looked for extra speed in the bowling attackShamar Joseph has the pace he has skills with the new ball Sammy said Not saying Matthew Forde doesnt but when you look at the role it makes it easier for us to now pick the personnel to fit that roleWest Indies will be playing its first two Group C games against Papua New Guinea and Uganda at Providence on June 2 and June 9 before taking on higherranked New Zealand and Afghanistan at Torouba and Gros Islet on June 13 and June 18 The top two teams from each of the four groups in the league stage will advance to Super 8The T20 World Cup 2024 starts June 1 with a North American rivalry between the US and Canada in Dallas and concludes with the final on June 29 at Bridgetown BarbadosWith AP Inputs