Former West Indies Captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, has questioned the hiring of Daren Sammy over Shivnarine Chanderpaul as West Indies white-ball coach.

Sammy, also a former West Indies Captain, was hired as the regional side’s new white-ball head coach in May.

The 39-year-old, who has coached the likes of Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL and the St. Lucia Kings in the CPL, was hired by CWI despite not having a level III (3) coaching certificate. Sarwan, in a social media post on Wednesday, questioned the process that went into hiring Sammy.

“Twenty-two persons were interviewed for the white ball coaching position. However, two were shortlisted. The big question is why were the other twenty persons/coaches not made known to CWI directors, and also, why is this a big secret and being kept away from the cricketing public? In the interest of transparency, those names should have been made available, at least to directors of CWI,” Sarwan wrote.

The 42-year-old then went on to question how Sammy got the job over Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was the other man shortlisted for the job, despite the fact that Chanderpaul is fully qualified and Sammy isn’t. Chanderpaul, 48, most recently coached the USA Women's Under-19 team and coached the Jamaica Tallawahs to CPL glory in 2022.

“The two coaches shortlisted by the President (headed) committee were Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Daren Sammy. Chanderpaul is fully qualified with a level III certificate and Sammy has almost zero coaching qualifications. Shockingly, Daren Sammy confirmed as coach. How is this possible? The President has a professional and moral obligation to the Caribbean people and, without delay, make public the criteria/method used for the selection of the coach,” Sarwan said.

Sammy’s first two assignments will come this month with three ODIs against the UAE before taking part in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has launched a search for someone to replace Ramnaresh Sarwan who has resigned as West Indies Senior Men’s and Youth Selector citing personal reasons.

The former Guyanese middle order batsman was appointed a selector for the West Indies Men’s Youth and Selection Panels on January 6, 2022. CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams thanked Sarwan for his contributions during the short time he served in the role.

“Given the depth of his experience in the game, we are disappointed that Ramnaresh is unable to continue in the role of a selector, but we fully understand and accept his reasons,” Adams said.

“We are grateful for his contribution during the period he was involved and hope that he will be able to contribute to West Indies Cricket in some capacity in the future.”

Resulting from the resignation, CWI will initiate a recruitment process as soon as possible through a competitive process, based on established criteria.

The aim, CWI said, will be to complete this process in the shortest possible time so that a suitable candidate can complete the selection panel in carrying out its duties. Robert Haynes, who is the current Lead Selector of the Men’s Youth Selection Panel and former interim Chairman of Selectors, will act as Sarwan’s replacement until a suitable full-time candidate is appointed.

Haynes will work alongside Senior Men’s Team Lead Selector the Most Honorable Dr Desmond Haynes and Head Coach Phil Simmons.

The West Indies Men’s team is currently touring the Netherlands for the first-ever ODI Series between the Netherlands and West Indies as part of the ICC ODI Super League.

Cricket West Indies (CWI), during a meeting of their Board of Directors on Thursday, announced the appointment of former Windies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan as a Selector to the West Indies Men’s Senior and Youth Selection Panels.

The panels are led by the Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes and Robert Haynes respectively.  Sarwan will be stepping down from his current role as Chairman of the Guyana Cricket Board’s Senior Selection Panel to focus on this role and avoid any conflict of interest.

“I am delighted to confirm that Ramnaresh Sarwan has agreed to accept the post of selector on CWI’s Men’s Senior and Youth Panels. He is a student of the game and knows what is required of our young cricketers in order to achieve international success. The Board of Directors are confident that Mr. Sarwan will add enormous value to the cricket system,” said CWI President Ricky Skerritt, reacting to the appointment.

Sarwan, a former West Indies captain who had an international career spanning over a decade, also reacted to his appointment to the panels.

“I want to thank CWI and everyone involved for giving me this opportunity to again serve West Indies cricket, as a member of the selection panels. I’m passionate about the game of cricket and especially West Indies cricket and once asked to contribute, I didn’t hesitate. I look forward to working with my colleagues, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes and Mr Robert Haynes, and the two Head Coaches, as well as everyone else involved in the development of this sport we love and respect so much,” he said.

Sarwan will be a member of the Men’s Senior and Youth Selection Panels until 30 June 2024, a period that includes four ICC Global Events, two T20 World Cups (2022 & 2024), the Cricket World Cup (2023), and the World Test Championship Final (2023).

He played 81 Test matches, 181 One-Day Internationals, and 18 T20 Internationals for the West Indies between 2000 and 2013.

He scored 5842 runs in Tests, including 15 centuries, and 5804 runs in ODIs, including five centuries, and was a member of the West Indies team which won the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy in 2004.

Former West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been appointed to lead the senior selection panel of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). His appointment is one several made at a meeting of the newly elected board on Saturday night.

At the meeting, which was the second held since the March 29 elections, and chaired by President B Bissoondyal Singh, several sub-committees were established for senior selection, junior selection as well as for cricket development, finance and public relations.

Sarwan will head the senior panel while Andre Percival, the most successful youth captain in the West Indies, will head the junior selection panel. Vice President Hilbert Foster will lead cricket development, Claude Raphael, the Public Relations Committee while Acting Treasurer Dr Cecil Beharry, heads up the Finance Committee.

Also arising from the meeting was the GCB decision to make available several positions on the different committees for the Essequibo Cricket Board.