Love for cricket doesn’t buy you groceries from supermarket: Darren Sammy

The
Caribbean
team
hit
the
nadir
at
the
ongoing
T20
World
Cup
as
the
two-time
champions
(2012
and
2016)
couldn’t
even
qualify
for
the
Super
12s.

As
a
double
T20
World
Cup
winning
skipper,
Sammy
is
bound
to
be
frustrated
and
angry.
But
at
the
same
time,
he
is
pragmatic
enough
to
understand
the
practical
difficulties
which
includes
not
enough
financial
security
offered
by
Cricket
West
Indies
(CWI).

Sammy
is
very
clear
that
unlike
BCCI,
the
West
Indies
board
can
never
stop
its
players
from
choosing
franchise
leagues
over
playing
for
the
assortment
of
island
nations.

“India
is
strong
because
they
can
tell
their
players
that
you
don’t
play
anywhere
else.
You
have
to
understand
that
they
have
the
money
to
back
it
up,”
Sammy
told
PTI
in
an
exclusive
interview
on
what
ails
West
Indies
cricket.

“An
India
A
list
contracted
player
could
probably
make
a
million
dollar
a
year
(Rs
7
crore
plus
match
fees
plus
TV
rights
money)
compared
to
a
Windies
A
lister,
who
would
earn
USD
150,000
(Rs
1.2
crore
roughly).

“That’s
a
massive
difference
and
obviously
the
question
of
pay
(disparity)
will
always
come
up.
It’s
very
difficult
for
smaller
boards
(in
terms
of
financial
might)
to
keep
their
players
together
when
they
are
handsomely
paid
elsewhere,”
Sammy
said
without
mincing
words
while
hitting
the
nail
on
its
head.

A
sportsman’s
peak
period
is
a
short
one
and
it’s
no
longer
an
amateur
sport
where
passion
was
the
biggest
ration
for
men
in
flannels.
“Gone
are
those
days
when
you
played
for
love.
Love
doesn’t
buy
you
groceries
from
supermarket,”
said
Sammy
bluntly.

He
feels
that
CWI
can
learn
a
thing
or
two
from
how
New
Zealand
Cricket
has
dealt
with
this
dilemma.
“So,
it’s
a
tough
period.
I
think
NZC
does
it
quite
well
(no
international
cricket
scheduled
during
IPL).
If
NZC
can
do
it,
it
comes
down
to
communication.
It’s
upto
the
players
and
the
boards
to
get
a
working
system.”

A
commitment
in
a
professional
relationship
demands
certain
kind
of
sacrifices.
“If
you
say,
you
are
committed
to
me
(player
to
board
or
vice
versa),
then
some
level
of
sacrifice
has
to
happen.
You
can’t
be
committed
to
me
when
nothing
else
is
available
for
you.”

Russell
and
lack
of
communication

Players
like
Andre
Russell
didn’t
take
part
in
the
T20
World
Cup
and
one
of
IPL’s
big
buys,
current
skipper
Nicholas
Pooran,
didn’t
look
half
the
player
he
is.

Sammy
feels
that
communication
is
a
two-way
street
and
both
Russell
and
CWI
have
to
come
on
the
same
page.
“I
think
it
cuts
both
ways
(referring
to
the
communication
gap).
But
one
also
needs
to
show
the
desire
to
play.
Desire
is
gauged
by
action.
“I
can
say
‘I
want
to
play,
I
want
to
play’ but
if
my
actions
don’t
show
that,
obviously
there
will
be
communication
gap,”
Sammy
said
in
a
message
for
Russell.

“I
don’t
know
what
kind
of
communication
happened
among
guys
like
Russell,
Fabien
Allen
and
Cricket
West
Indies
but
it
wasn’t
good
enough.
But
then
in
CPL
we
have
had
young
players
who
have
outshone
Russell
and
Co,”
said
the
former
skipper,
who
feels
that
no
one
is
indispensable.

Playing
only
leagues
can
have
negative
effect

Sammy
knows
a
thing
or
two
about
winning
T20
World
Cups
and
he
strongly
believes
that
being
a
star
freelancer
in
global
leagues
can
make
you
the
most
sought
after
player
but
it
certainly
has
its
pitfalls
while
playing
occasional
T20Is
for
the
country.

“I
don’t
know
what
motivates
them
(players)
but
one
thing
I
know
for
sure.
When
West
Indies
won
two
T20
World
Cups
in
2012
and
2016,
in
that
phase
our
domination
was
because
all
our
top
T20
players
were
still
regularly
playing
international
cricket.

“Some
were
playing
Test
matches
and
a
lot
of
them
were
playing
ODIs.
Facing
international
bowlers
was
always
there,” he
elaborated.

A
classic
example
for
Sammy
is
Englishman
Alex
Hales,
who
has
been
a
star
in
T20
leagues
(not
IPL)
but
after
a
long
layoff
is
having
problems
adjusting
in
international
cricket.

“You
can
play
‘n’
number
of
leagues
but
it
is
hard
to
play
T20
leagues
for
long
time
and
one
fine
day
appear
for
your
national
team
and
expect
that
you
will
create
magic.
That
doesn’t
happen.

“Take
the
example
of
Alex
Hales.
For
four
years,
he
faced
franchise
bowling
and
as
good
a
player
Alex
is,
at
international
level,
you
have
three
to
four
bowlers
always
on
song.
To
play
that
high
level,
you
have
to
practice
at
that
high
level.”

Playing
for
Caribbean
nations
not
solution

What
hurts
Sammy
is
the
lack
of
pride
while
wearing
that
iconic
maroon
West
Indies
jersey.
“For
decades,
it
was
our
thing.
When
we
came
to
T20
World
Cups,
win
or
lose,
we
had
that
fear
factor
in
our
jersey
Numbers.
The
teams
knew
that
they
would
have
to
bring
their
A
game.

“But
that’s
not
the
case
at
the
moment.
To
think
of
a
West
Indies
team
not
among
the
top
12
of
a
T20
World
Cup
is
unimaginable.”

So,
will
playing
for
Barbados,
Jamaica,
Guyana
at
least
in
T20Is
can
be
a
solution
considering
there
will
be
some
pride
associated
with
playing
for
the
flag?
Sammy
outrightly
rejected
the
idea.

“No,
I
don’t
think
that
will
work
as
West
Indies
have
too
much
history
to
be
disintegrated
into
island
nations.
Also,
a
practical
difficulty
is
that
all
the
islands
don’t
have
enough
quality
players
to
play
for
the
nation,” he
concluded.