Lendl Simmons' sacrifice for West Indies cricket costs him IPL chance
Lendl Simmons was not a part of the initial West Indies squad for the ICC World T20 2016 but he arrived in India as a replacement for injured Johnson Charles before the semi-final in Mumbai. In the match against India, Simmons played an innings of a lifetime and guided his nation to the final.
Samuel Badree continued to remain the backbone of the West Indian bowling attack throughout the tournament and was instrumental in the victorious campaign. He picked up 9 wickets in 6 matches as West Indies won the World T20 for the second time.
Both Simmons and Badree lifted the World Cup for their nation, but in the bid, they lost out on IPL 9 due to injuries they picked during the tournament. Simmons was one of the key members of the defending IPL champions Mumbai Indians (MI) while Badree was acquired by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
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These players risked their future for the sake of West Indies cricket and got very little in return. From having no team uniforms, the West Indies cricketers went out of their way to defy all odds to lift the trophy. Captain Darren Sammy’s emotional speech after their win was also harshly dealt by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). They went on to apologise for their captain’s comments.
The tussle between the West Indies players and the board has affected their cricket. There is a long list of international cricketers in the Caribbean who have been treated with unprofessionalism and disrespect. Ramnaresh Sarwan, another star for the side, was forced to take the legal route against the WICB. He has not announced his retirement yet, but the WICB seems to have forgotten about him.
Players like Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo went out of favour of the board and could not find their place in the Test team. Gayle, who is a veteran of 103 Test matches played his last Test in 2014. Though he has not announced his retirement yet, there is very little hope of him making a test comeback.
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Despite all their flaws in the administration, the players constantly come up with superb performances. Despite every obstacle, the West Indian cricketers find a way to compete and win on the biggest stage of all.
The entire cricketing fraternity mourns about the poor state of cricket administration in the Caribbean. But with three different World Cups in the space of three months the brave cricketers of West Indies have proved to the world that cricket in the Caribbean is not dead.