Sammy says pay cuts dented West Indies morale before final ODI vs India

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy said pay cuts by the West Indies Cricket Board damaged team morale on the eve of the final ODI against India in New Chandigarh on Friday (October 2, 2026).

As the board looks to reduce costs by instituting pay cuts for players, Sammy addressed a press conference at New Chandigarh and spoke about the timing of the announcement. Sammy, a two-time T20 World Cup-winning skipper, praised his players for keeping their heads down even as results have not gone their way and said the team continues to improve in certain areas.

“I mean, look, as a professional, that’s not what you want to hear before a series,” said Sammy on the eve of the final ODI against India here on Friday (October 2, 2026).

“Before the pay cuts, I said there is no better time to play India. You win against the best team, you get some leverage, not only for West Indies as a whole, but for you personally. Performing against India pays you back down the road. We try our best to put that there. I commend the guys for the way they put their heads down. Yes, the results have not gone [our way]. But we keep improving in certain areas,” said the two-time T20 World Cup-winning skipper.

On the learning so far, Sammy said he was happy with the intent shown by his batters even though the bowling has struggled. “Intent is something that we’ve spoken about in the dressing room. We have had four batters scoring 100s in two games. It is a positive for us. The rotation of strike, the intent, especially against spin — these are the key performance indicators that we take.”

“But we still need to find ways, when the pitch is not really offering any assistance to the bowlers, to be disciplined in our lines and lengths and the plans that we put in,” added Sammy.

Sammy’s remarks came on the eve of the final ODI against India in New Chandigarh on Friday (October 2, 2026), the match that will conclude the series.