‘Respect the Opposition’ – West Indies head coach ahead of T20 World Cup 2026 super 8 Clash vs Zimbabwe

West Indies will begin their Super 8 campaign against Zimbabwe at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Head coach Darren Sammy has made it clear that his team will not take Zimbabwe lightly. Having won the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016 as captain, Sammy now hopes to guide the team to another title as coach. He believes a strong start in the Super 8 stage is very important before facing India and South Africa.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Sammy said, “Who said Zimbabwe is not supposed to be here? A lot of people say the West Indies is not supposed to be here either. I think when you're in a World Cup, you've got to respect every opposition. And that's what we've been doing. That's what I encourage my guys to do. Respect the opposition, but believe in yourself, believe in your processes and your execution.

“So, tomorrow we approach it the same way as we would approach a game against India, Australia or whoever - like us, they are very confident. They are playing some good cricket, and I think I've said it before, T20 is a format that brings teams closer together. There's no clear-cut winner. You've got to go out on the day and execute your plans, or else you could lose the match,” said Sammy.

West Indies Boosted by Shepherd’s Return

The team received positive news ahead of the match as Romario Shepherd has recovered from injury. He had missed the last group match against Italy but looked sharp in training. Shepherd earlier took a five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, against Scotland. Sammy said, “Yeah, he practised well yesterday, bowled quite well, hit the ball very, very cleanly. The good thing for us is everybody is available for selection, going into the Super 8, that's what you want. So I'm glad to know and happy to know that all my soldiers are ready to go out to war.”

When asked about Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani, Sammy said they have plans ready. “We plan for every single player. Not only him, but he's an X factor. And like I said earlier, you've got to respect the opposition. We know the threat they bring against us, but we also know what we have to do in order for them not to be threatening against us.”

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Sammy also praised the growth of the game and the performance of Associate teams in the tournament. “This tournament, we had 20 teams. If you watch, especially in our group, I think everybody won a game; the associate teams have really pushed the full members. So it says that the game is growing, especially in that shorter format, that one person could actually have a brilliant inning that could actually impact the game on winning or losing.” He added that Zimbabwe are well led by Sikandar Raza and backed by passionate fans.

Talking about the upcoming match, Sammy said, “No, it's a cricket game. As I said earlier, I don't see an advantage. What we did against Nepal, what we did against England here, bears no bearing on the game tomorrow. It's a new opposition on a different day. We just got to come back, assess again, and decide what's required, and hopefully we deliver well. I'm pretty sure Zimbabwe will try to do the same thing. So Super 8 match, playing for your country, everything to play for, bring the excitement and the entertainment, and like I said, hopefully West Indies when that last ball is bowled is victorious,” he added.