West Indies coach Daren Sammy paid rich compliments to his skipper Shai Hope for carrying the team on his back to beat India in the final ODI here on Saturday.
“He just put on his pads, went out, and won us the game. I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he’s done for West Indies, how he’s played, and the commitment he’s given us. Class player, great individual,” remarked Sammy.
“He was in the field for what, 98.2 overs. The skipper stepping up is not anything new to him, but to keep 50 overs and then put on your pads and go and play an innings like that was special,” said Sammy, He literally took the team on his back today with the bat, like he’s done so many times before.
“We came here knowing the quality that India has and to measure ourselves against a team like that. We showed that when we do things consistently well for long enough, we could match the number one team in the world. We will take a lot of learning from this. Sammy, a two-time T20 World Cup-winning skipper, was also impressed by Hope’s leadership and felt the latter has always led by example. He believes in that.
“As I said, he leads by his performance. Like today, somebody had to go up and open, and when I said to him [to open], he didn’t say a word.