Daren Sammy has been appointed as the new head coach of the West Indies men's cricket team for all formats, marking a significant step in his coaching career.
The former skipper, who has already been in charge of West Indies' T20I and ODI teams since 2023, will assume control of the Test team from April 2025.
This was confirmed by Cricket West Indies (CWI) Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, during an announcement in St Vincent.
"It's always an honour to represent the West Indies in any format or position. For me, this news is not something I was expecting," Sammy said at the press conference.
"Coaching was never something I saw myself doing, but I must admit that, the way things have been going, I've developed a much stronger passion and love for the job. I believe in processes, something we've been able to implement in the white-ball formats, and with this new role, I've already mapped out some of the areas and processes we’ll need to follow in order to be successful [in Test cricket]. I'm a patient man, and once I trust the process and understand the requirements from the director of cricket, then the plan gets into action.
"So, I'm really excited about the added responsibility and the new journey—one that I think my team and I will be well-prepared for."
The 40-year-old has had a strong run as head coach of the white-ball teams, with notable successes in both ODIs and T20Is.
Under his leadership, the West Indies won 15 of 28 ODIs since May 2023, including four out of seven bilateral series. In T20Is, they won four series at home against India, England, and South Africa, although they lost to Sri Lanka, Australia, and England.
Overall, they secured 20 wins from 35 T20Is during the same period.
However, the Test team's record under Andre Coley, who served as head coach since May 2023, has been less impressive.
The West Indies have lost seven Test matches, drawn two, and won two, with their most notable achievement being an eight-run victory against Australia in Brisbane earlier this year.
Despite this, they have struggled in the World Test Championship (WTC) and remain at the bottom of the points table.
"Post our current World Test Championship campaign, we are going to be expanding Mr. Sammy's role to encompass all formats," Bascombe announced. "So when we host Australia next summer, Daren Sammy will be the head coach of all senior men's teams. I want to take this opportunity to thank Andre Coley, who has served well.
"He still has to complete his World Test Championship campaign in Pakistan, and he will have our full support. But again, I want to congratulate Mr. Sammy. We have been quite impressed with the way he has charted a course for our white-ball teams and guided them toward consistency of performance, and that is exactly what we want to see in our Test team."
His coaching career took off after his time as a player, where his leadership qualities were evident in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
In 2020, he captained St Lucia Kings to the CPL final, and in 2022, he took over as head coach, guiding the team to the Eliminator in the same year.
His role as coach and brand ambassador in the CPL has seen significant success, including reaching the final and providing valuable experience to his players.
Before becoming the West Indies coach, Sammy also enjoyed a successful stint as the head coach of Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he had been a popular and influential figure since the league’s inception in 2016.
