Simmons blasts T2O absentees

FORMER West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons, has made it clear the team should not be begging any player to represent them. Speaking in response to Denesh Ramdin’s calls for Twenty20 (T20) support following sub-par performances on the Indian tour, Simmons indicated players need to want to represent the Caribbean outfit, a hunger which he just doesn’t see at present.

“Yeah, you can’t force people. You’ve got to have players who want to play for you,” he said to ESPN just before the Windies were whitewashed by the hosts in the three-match T20 series. Ramdin had earlier reiterated that while the squad needs their T20 stars such as Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, it’s tough for players of their calibre and demand to prioritise West Indies cricket over franchises because of the money they’ll earn.