12 June,2015 08:48 AM IST | | PTI
Having watched Virat Kohli lead Royal Challengers Bangalore from close quarters, West Indies' T20 captain feels that the dashing batsman loves to lead by example which is in contrast to his predecessor
Darren Sammy
New Delhi: Having watched Virat Kohli lead Royal Challengers Bangalore from close quarters, West Indies' T20 captain Darren Sammy feels that the dashing batsman "loves to lead by example" which is in contrast to his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni's "quiet way" of functioning.
Darren Sammy
"Virat loves to be involved in the game every moment while Mahendra Singh Dhoni's style of functioning was to quietly do his things without saying much. Both are contrasting styles of captaincy but can be equally beneficial for the Indian cricket team," Sammy, who was a part of RCB in the last IPL, told PTI in an interaction, yesterday.
What Sammy liked during his seven-week stint at RCB was Kohli's "passion" which makes the Indian stand out in the pack. "Everyone knows Virat is a superb batsman and he has the ability to lead by example. He has that aggressive intent and wants to win matches. If he can bring that same passion and intent in his leadership for India as he does for the RCB, then it will be a great thing.
"But this is for sure that he will bring his own distinct style. I wish him all the best for the ongoing Bangladesh series," Sammy, the World T20 winning West Indies skipper said. Sammy did not have a great IPL as he got to play only two matches but he is now getting ready to lead the St Lucia Zouks in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League.
"It was disappointing (playing only two matches in IPL). I was struggling with a shoulder injury at that time. But after that I had a decent few matches with Nottinghamshire in the English T20 championship and I am now looking forward to the CPL.
With a player like Kevin (Pietersen) in our side, we hope to do better than what we did last time," said Sammy.Sammy retired from Test cricket last year and stressed that he has "no regrets" quitting the longer form when he was only 30 years old.
"I have no regrets. I am very happy with my decision. In any case, a lot of people thought that the 37 Tests that I played were too many," he said with a hearty laugh. Critics term a section of current generation of Caribbean cricketers as mercenaries for dumping traditional form of the game in lure of cash-rich T20 cricket.
Sammy responded sharply to such a suggestion. "I have learnt one thing in all these years. No matter whatever you do, you cannot please all the people. There is freedom of speech. It's a democracy and people are entitled to express their opinion.
But you know one thing, when the cricket lovers watch us playing on TV, they rarely get to know what is going inside a cricketer's mind. "It's not easy for them to understand why we take certain career decisions. It's not justified to pass an opinion without knowing the circumstances," Sammy signed off.
