'It's a no-brainer for me': Two-time World Cup winning captain picks his favourite team to lift T20 WC
Former captain of the West Indies, Darren Sammy has named his favourite to win the 2021 T20 World Cup.
With the T20 World Cup less than two months away, preparations are underway for all participating teams. While some players have withdrawn from the IPL 2021 to focus on the ICC extravaganza, most around the world are looking forward to the Indian T20 league to warm up for the global event, which starts October 17 and will be played in Oman and across the UAE.

Ahead of the T20 World Cup, certain teams appear strong contenders to win the title. Teams like India and England are being considered two favourites. India reached the semi-finals of the World T20 in 2016 and 2019 World Cup, whereas England finished runner up the last time the tournament was played and became world champions in 2019. New Zealand is another strong team, having recently won the WTC title and even though the format is entirely different, they announced a squad that packs a punch.
However, the one team that promises to pose a strong threat and no one is talking much about is West Indies, the defending champions. They are a two-time T20 World Cup winners, having lifted the title in 2012 and 2016, and the man who led the West Indies to those triumphs, Darren Sammy, is confident of the team from the Caribbean winning a third T20 world title later this year.
"It's a no brainer for me - West Indies all the way. When you look at West Indies, and people might say I'm sounding biased, but in the last four (three) tournaments we've managed to get to the final four, winning two out of that," Sammy said in an ICC digital show.
"Our players, the calibre of players we have - when you look at captain Pollard, he's back, the Universe Boss Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Evin Lewis, I could go on a long list of guys who can just take the attack to you."
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Sammy weighed in on England and Australia's chances at the ICC event, saying that while the reigning world champions know what it is like to play in conditions such as the ones in the UAE, Australia – who are yet to win a T20 World Cup title – will be fiercely motivated to end the trophy drought.
"When you look at England, who have been playing some excellent T20 cricket - finalists in the last one (Men's T20 World Cup) in 2016, they won it in the Caribbean. To me what that says, two venues where the pitches are similar - India and the Caribbean - they've won and they've got to the final, so their players adjust to the conditions quite well," said Sammy.
"You look at Australia who have not gotten their hands on this silverware, they'll be desperate to get it. The calibre of players they have - so many players who play in the IPL - who understand the conditions."
While all eyes will be on star batsmen such as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and Babar Azam, Sammy is keen to know who the player of the tournament is going to be. In fact, the former West Indies captain already has a name in mind, whom he feels could set the tournament on fire.
"Someone batting in the top three should get the most runs. You speak of someone like a Virat Kohli. But getting the most runs doesn't necessarily mean that your team wins the tournament. I'm more interested in who is going to be the 'Player of the Tournament'. Somebody like Andre Russell, who bowls and bats and comes in at crucial times, will come out with that title," Sammy said.
