Daren Sammy reveals his Dream T20 XI, kicks aside Suryakumar Yadav, Jos Buttler, MS Dhoni

Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy picked his dream T20 XI in a video shared by St. Lucia Kings on their official Instagram account. The World Cup-winning captain left out players like Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni, Jos Buttler, and Andre Russell in his dream XI, which included himself.

Sammy is currently serving as head coach for the Kings in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2025. The David Wiese-led team is in fifth place in the six-team points table with three points and a net run rate (NRR) of -0.375. They have won one match and lost one, while another was abandoned due to a wet outfield.

Daren Sammy Reveals His Dream T20 XI

Daren Sammy picked West Indies legend Chris Gayle and Team India batter Rohit Sharma as openers. Sammy chose wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran, who recently retired from international cricket, at No. 3.

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AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli were picked for the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, respectively. The West Indies head coach stated that the batting order is flexible.

"Opening batsman Chris Gale. Number two opening with Chris Gayle would be Rohit Sharma. Number three, Nicholas Pooran. Number four, I need a right-hander, which would be AB de Villiers. Number five, I’ll go with Virat Kohli," Sammy said.

"I will probably, depending, shift Virat and Nicholas Pooran three for five. But that would be my top five."

Daren Sammy Completes Dream T20 XI with All-Rounders and Bowlers

Daren Sammy slotted Kieron Pollard and himself at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, in the lineup. Sammy then picked Rashid Khan, the highest wicket-taker in T20s with 660 scalps, for the next spot.

In the bowling unit, Sammy chose Sunil Narine to partner with Rashid Khan in the spin department. For the pace attack, he included India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Sri Lanka legend Lasith Malinga. He concluded the team with backup players Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, and Samuel Badree.

"Number six would be Kieron Pollard. You said I have to pick myself today. Number seven, I’ll pick myself. Lasith Malinga. Jasprit Bumrah would be 10 and 11. Number nine, Sunil Narine."

"On my bench, I have Andre Russell. Andre Russell on my bench. I also have Dwayne Bravo on my bench. And if I had to open the bowling for a spinner, it would be Samuel Badree."

Watch the video of the same posted on Instagram below:

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A post shared by 𝘿𝙖𝙣 (@danjadz_)

Sammy played 38 Tests, 126 ODIs, and 68 T20Is for the West Indies. He scored 3,451 runs and took 209 wickets. Sammy played 320 T20 matches, scoring 3,918 runs at a strike rate of 138.39, while taking 169 wickets.

He last played an international match in September 2017. The all-rounder represented the World XI against Pakistan in Lahore, where he scored 24 off 23 balls.

Daren Sammy's Dream T20 11:

Chris Gayle, Rohit Sharma (VC), Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Daren Sammy (C), Rashid Khan, Sunil Narine, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah

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