Darren Sammy, a former West Indies captain, questioned Andre Russell once again about the comment made by West Indies head coach Phil Simmons during the Hundred. Russell did not provide many details, but he did say that following a “discussion,” was like being “thrown under the bus.”
Recently Phil Simmons shared his disappointment due to the unavailability of big names in the West Indies squad. He said, “ It hurts. There’s no other way to put it. But what can you do? I don’t think that I should be begging people to play for their countries. I think if you want to represent West Indies, you will make yourself available.”
In response, Russell made an Instagram post captioned “ I know this was coming but am gonna stay quiet” with angry emojis and later deleted it.
Russell told former West Indian captain Darren Sammy during the Hundred on Tuesday, “I’m going to be quiet because at the end of the day, we had a discussion, and the discussion was very clear. So now, making me look bad, throwing me under the bus… I was expecting it. I’m going to stay quiet, Daren, to be honest.”
Russell, who presently plays for the Manchester Originals, hasn’t represented the West Indies since the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last year, but he still wants to play international cricket and take home World Cups.
He further added,” It’s not like I can start over again. I’m 34 and I want to win another World Cup – or two more – for West Indies because at the end of the day, I’m here now, and I’m just taking it day by day. Honestly, I have two franchise hundreds and I wish those hundreds were actually playing for West Indies. I don’t regret saying this just now. I really enjoyed playing for Jamaica Tallawahs but those two hundreds, it would be more special coming in international cricket.”
The availability of top players like Russell, Sunil Narine, and Evin Lewis for the T20 World Cup in Australia in two months has not been known, hence they have not been playing for West Indies this year. Russell’s next game will be in the Caribbean Premier League following the Hundred.
