Bravo replaces Sammy as new ODI captain

Bridgetown (Barbados), May 5 (IANS/CMC): All-rounder Dwayne Bravo has replaced Darren Sammy as the West Indies captain for next month?s Champions Trophy in England, in a move aimed at reinvigorating the One-Day International side of the Caribbean.

The new move, announced Saturday by the West Indies Cricket Board, will relieve Sammy of some of the burden of the captaincy, which saw him leading the team in all formats, reports CMC.

Sammy will, however, continue as captain of the Tests and Twenty20 squads.

?Our results in Tests and T20s have been showing consistent improvement and Sammy deserves every praise for the work he has done in leading and moulding the team in these formats,? chief selector Clyde Butts said.

?We remain confident in his leadership in these formats and will recommend that he continues as the captain for Test and T20 cricket. However our ODI results have not been as strong and we believe that it is best that we freshen the leadership of the team in this format.?

Sammy, the once unheralded St Lucian, took over the helm of the side from Chris Gayle in 2010 and has presided over 25 Tests, 51 One-Day Internationals and 21 T20s.

Under the 29-year-old, the West Indies won 19 one-dayers and lost 30.

Sammy was rested for the three-match series against Zimbabwe in February when Bravo, the previous vice-captain, took over the helm of the squad.

In 137 ODIs, Bravo has scored 2311 runs at an average of nearly 23.82 and has taken 160 wickets at 30 runs apiece.

Butts gave a wholehearted endorsement of Bravo?s ability, noting that he did not foresee any problems with the handing over from Sammy.

?Dwayne Bravo is an experienced, seasoned and senior cricketer who has demonstrated leadership qualities. He has served as West Indies vice-captain and has had some success when he has led the West Indies team on occasion,? Butts said.

?We believe that his transition to the position of captaincy will be a smooth one. The selection panel therefore recommended to the Board of Directors that Bravo be appointed captain and we are pleased that the Board has approved the recommendation.?

Squad: Dwayne Bravo (captain), Denesh Ramdin (vice-captain), Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith. Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Tino Best.

–IANS/CMC

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