The series might have been lost, but West Indies head coach Daren Sammy feels the India tour has been a “good gauge” in understanding where they are placed in ODI cricket.
West Indies entered the series against the backdrop of a skewed track record, and considerable pay cuts amid financial restructuring by Cricket West Indies. While their batters have made the most of helpful conditions, the bowling has suffered on lifeless tracks, failing to curb a dominant Indian top-order.
“Look, that is not what you want to hear before a series,” Sammy admitted, when asked how difficult it has been to motivate the team amid the developments. “But again, it is no secret to me, to you guys. I think, earlier this year when I was here for the Test series (in late 2025), we spoke about the financial situation of West Indies cricket. And I guess the administrators, the board, you still got to find a way to stay afloat”.
As part of sweeping changes, CWI announced a 25 per cent reduction in retainer fees for international players, which the CEO said was “not ideal, but necessary”. Sammy, in New Chandigarh ahead of the third ODI, explained there was no magic fix to the situation.
“If you have a business that is not doing well financially, you have to find ways to sustain it,” Sammy said. “Unless, I say ‘Abracadabra!’, then we get some big sum of money where we could entice our players to, you know, just let them know that everything is going to be okay financially. That is the situation we are facing.”
Sammy feels the India tour came as an opportunity for the team to not only gauge where they are at in terms of ODI cricket, especially in the context of qualification for World Cup 2027, but also gave them an extra incentive during a difficult period.
“I was a professional, I know what I told the guys. I said, ‘There is no better time to play India. You win against the best team, you get some leverage, not only for the West Indies as a whole, but for you personally,’” Sammy said.
“Performing against India always brings that extra incentive that could later down the road, incentives pay you back for your performance. So, we try our best to put that there, but it is not, it is a big, big mirror you can’t escape, seeing the reflection of all the struggles”.
Sammy, who took over as head coach in April last year, identified specific areas to improve, and particularly wanted to correct their ODI record at home. From the start of 2014 until the end of 2023, West Indies won just four ODI series at home. They then went on to win three back-to-back between 2024 and 2025.
“What we’ve been able to do over the last two and a half years at home is make home a fortress,” he said.
However, it’s been tough away from home. Aside from not beating India in India since 2002, they have largely struggled as a travelling unit, having not beaten any Full Member side outside home since beating Afghanistan in India in 2019. And before that, Bangladesh in 2011.
Against India, their batting has given India a match, but the bowlers have just not been able to keep up against the frenetic scoring. Sammy said it was not ideal for the bowlers, but also said it was still a challenge for both sides.
“Maybe we have not had the luck of bowling first, where you could bring whatever reverse swing or whatever there is in drier conditions. But yes, it has been a really bat-vs-bat contest, as Gautam (Gambhir) said,” Sammy quipped.
“We need to continue to try to find ways to put the Indian batting under pressure by being a little bit more disciplined and consistent in our lines and lengths”.
Sammy had high praise for Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, who he says “didn’t really give a chance” to his bowlers. He did see positives in their batting approach, but also said their batters need to keep pushing the boundaries as well.
“The rotation of strike, the intent, especially against spin, these are the things, KPIs, that we tick. But if the surface dictates that you need 450, then I guess we’ve got to get 475, you know, and that’s one of the challenges”.
After seeing Gill’s onslaught, and the nature of pitches on offer, Sammy said there was “no excuse” for not scoring runs. “I was telling the guys, ‘When you get pitches like that, sometimes the team requires you to score 170, not just 100,” Sammy said. “Again, it was really tough for the bowlers and the captain (Shai Hope) played a really good knock. He has been batting extremely well, especially in these conditions here”.
He also felt West Indies missed the opportunity to capitalise on strong positions, particularly at the backend in Guwahati, when the team was cruising at 329/3 after 40 overs, ending on 405/7.
“When you find yourself in a good position on a good pitch, at 30 overs you should be able to double the score,” Sammy said. “I think at 30 overs we were 230 odd, so you were looking at 450 or above, but the last 10 overs we only scored 70 odd runs. It is a time where you are supposed to accelerate a bit”.
Before the tour enters its T20I leg, Sammy feels the team has had a good measure of their strengths and weaknesses in the ODI format, given the ten-spot difference between the two sides in the ICC rankings.
“Every game against India is a massive event. I think before we started the series I said: ‘It is a great opportunity for us to measure ourselves against the No.1 ranked team in the world’.
“I thought it has been a good gauge as to where we are in the context of ODI cricket,” Sammy said. “What we have to do in order to compete to win against a top side. The pitches have been very good for our batters, but it has been really harsh on the bowlers, but it is a good gauge”.