Shashank.Shekhar
GROS ISLET: A group of
Darren Sammy supporters staged a noisy protest outside the
Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium
on Tuesday over his recent sacking as West Indies T20 captain. The fans, around 50, held placards castigating the
West Indies Cricket Board
, its president
Dave Cameron
and chief selector Courtney Browne.
They milled around Sammy's black pick-up van when their hero arrived at the stadium, forcing him to come out. Even as they raised slogans in his favour, Sammy requested them to keep calm. "Support the team. It's playing. And I don’t want anyone of you to get arrested," he pleaded with the fans. "We don't mind getting arrested for you. You are our champion," yelled Joicelyn Daniels, a middle-aged woman.
A smiling Sammy obliged fans with photographs, selfies and autographs before driving away towards the pavilion end of the stadium. He refused to speak to the media: "I've come to meet the players, let me go there." He told the fans to support the team too.
Daniels told TOI, "More than his sacking, it's the way he has been sacked that is unacceptable for Saint Lucians. We feel disrespected." Sammy, in a recent Facebook post, had said that he was sacked as captain in a 30-second phone call from Browne.
Another protester, Yasse, said, "Look at his contribution. Two time World T20-winning captain, he united the team. And he was sacked in a 30-second call."