West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy, who retired from Test cricket last week after being sacked as captain, said Monday he was left with no choice after realising he was no longer needed.
Sammy, 30, Test captain since October 2010, retired from the longer format on Saturday, one day after the selectors replaced him with wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin.
“Change is inevitable,” Sammy told the Press Trust of India news agency. “Sometimes we might not like it. Sometimes we might not agree with it, but we have to accept it.”
Sammy insisted it was not a tough decision to retire from Tests, where he captained in 30 of his 38 matches, after the selectors indicated he was not part of their future plans.
“It was something I thought about after I discussed with the selectors,” he said. “After listening to the management about the way they wanted to move to the next level in Test cricket, I understood that my role wasn’t needed as captain or player.
“The West Indies cricket has a new direction and I am no longer required to play a role in Tests. I had no choice but to retire.”
Sammy, who was earlier also the one-day captain before he was replaced by Dwayne Bravo, will still lead the Caribbean in Twenty20 cricket, with his team winning the World T20 in 2012.
The West Indies will now have separate captains for all three formats, with Ramdin leading in Tests, Bravo in one-dayers and Sammy in Twenty20 internationals.