First vice-president of the T&T Cricket Board Dudnath Ramkessoon thinks that West Indies captain Darren Sammy needs to step up and prove himself worthy of wearing West Indies colours. The St Lucian allrounder, who replaced Chris Gayle as skipper in October, had a forgettable Test series against Sri Lanka recently, scoring just 10 runs in three innings and taking two wickets at 75.50 apiece. Ramkessoon, who played 32 matches for T&T between 1970 and 1979, pointed out that there was no room in the team for a specialist captain.
"I think if you look at the composition of the team, some people would think that he's only holding his place because he is captain. He still needs to justify his place because he is keeping out a specialist fast bowler. His form will also affect his relationship with his players because it's hard to motivate others when you are not up to the level you are supposed to be." Despite his sub-par individual performance, Ramkessoon praised Sammy for leading the team to a 0-0 series draw. "I honestly thought we would be totally outplayed in the Test series but the players have shown they can be competitive, which is all we ask of them," he said. "It was good to see young players like Darren Bravo and Kemar Roach step up and show that they belong at international level."
Looking ahead to the four-match ODI series beginning in late January, Ramkessoon noted that Sri Lanka's bowling would be more potent with the return of offspinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who will play in the third and fourth matches, and rested fast bowler Lasith Malinga. "Sri Lanka were grooming their new bowlers in the Test matches but the batsmen will find it a lot more difficult against 'Murali' and Malinga. They will definitely make a big difference to their attack." Aside from experienced players like Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo, Ramkessoon said he was counting on the big-hitting allrounder Kieron Pollard to make an impression.
"He's become one of the highest paid Twenty20 players in the world and I would like to see him dominate in international cricket the way he's done in the domestic leagues," he said.