Sammy addressed the squad's situation on the eve of the third ODI in New Chandigarh.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) implemented a mandatory 25 per cent pay cut on international player retainer contracts. The decision, which went into effect ahead of their white-ball tour of India, stems from significant financial hardships following a net loss of US$28 million for the fiscal year ending September 2025 and a projected US$26 million deficit for 2026.
West Indies head coach Daren Sammy addressed the squad's situation on the eve of the third ODI in New Chandigarh.
While Sammy acknowledged that receiving such news right before a major series is "not what you want to hear as a professional" and impacts team morale, he backed the board's necessity to sustain the business and keep regional cricket afloat.
“As a professional, that's not what you want to hear before a series. But again, it's no secret to me. I think earlier this year when I was here for the Test series, we spoke about the financial situation of West Indies cricket,” Sammy told reporters.
“I guess the administrators, the board, you've still got to find ways to stay afloat. If you have a business that's not doing well financially, you've got to find ways to sustain it.
“Unless I say abracadabra (magic word) and then we get a big sum of money where we could entice our players to just let them know that everything's going to be okay financially, that's the situation we're facing,” he added.
Having already conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead to India after failing to defend 405 in the second ODI in Guwahati, Sammy stressed that the Caribbean bowlers need greater discipline in their lines, lengths, and plans.
“We still need to find ways when wickets are not really offering any assistance to the bowlers to be disciplined in our lines and lengths and the plans that we put in.
“But yeah, we always knew, coming to India, it's always a challenge, not only for us, but for most teams,” Sammy said.
He believes the tourists could have posted a total closer to 450 in the second match after reaching 230 at the end of 30 overs, rather than finishing on 405/7.
“The position we were in, especially in ODI cricket, they normally say when you find yourself in a good position on a good pitch, at 30 overs you should be able to double the score. I think at 30 overs we were 230-odd. So you were looking at 450 thereabouts.
“But the last 10 overs we only scored 70-odd runs, where it's a time when you're supposed to accelerate the innings.”
India's successful chase was headlined by Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 223 off 133 balls—the fastest ODI double-century off 117 deliveries. The skipper was well supported by Rohit Sharma's 101 off 75 balls as the duo stitched a 255-run opening stand to lay the foundation.
“When we came in at 400, and you're looking at all the stats, you say India has never chased 400 before, and you're hoping that we could go as a bowling group and get wickets up front, because that's what you have to do to beat India in India.
“You've got to get wickets in the powerplay, get wickets in the middle, and build that pressure with a total that is over 400,” Sammy said, before admitting that the Indian openers never really gave them a chance.
“But Shubman and Rohit didn't really give a chance. The way they batted, both of them. Rohit scored a hundred off, I think, 70-odd balls, and Shubman was even faster. So, they scored big hundreds.
“I was telling the guys, when you get pitches like that, sometimes the team requires you to score 170, not just a hundred. But again, it was really tough for the bowlers, and the captain (Gill) played a really good knock. He's been batting extremely well, especially in these conditions here.
“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,” he remarked.
(With PTI Inputs)