'St Lucia is and will always be my home,' Sammy on getting appointed as head coach of St. Lucia Kings

Former West Indies skipper Daren Sammy has been appointed as the head coach of St Lucia Kings for the upcoming edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Saint Lucia Kings confirmed the appointment on Friday (June 17). The ex-West Indies all-rounder will take over the reins from ex-head coach of St Lucia Kings, Andy Flower, who held the position for the past two seasons.

Last year, he was appointed the franchise's 'T20 cricket consultant and brand ambassador' for the 2021 season of the CPL and worked with Andy Flower as part of the coaching staff. Sammy has represented the Saint Lucia-based franchise as a player since the 2013 season and played a big role in taking Saint Lucia Kings (St Lucia Zouks earlier) into the finals during the 2020 season.

The two-time World Cup-winning skipper is delighted to start the new chapter with the franchise and looking forward to helping the team win their first-ever CPL title.

“St Lucia is and will always be my home. It was always part of the plan to lead the franchise after my playing days. The time is now. I can’t wait to start this next chapter with this amazing franchise as we continue on our quest to win our first CPL title," said Daren Sammy on his appointment.

The two-time World Cup-winning captain thanked the owners for showing faith and giving him the role of a head coach. 

"Many thanks to the Kings franchise owners for the faith shown in me for this role. The journey continues,” Sammy added.

Prior to this, the 38-year-old has also served as the head coach of Peshawar Zalmi in the 2020 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) before being replaced by James Foster earlier this year. And in June last year, the former West Indies skipper was added to the Cricket West Indies (CWI) board as an independent, non-member director for two years.

After qualifying for the playoffs just once in seven seasons since the start of CPL, the last year's finalists have turned a corner in the previous two years, making it to two successive finals. However, they finished on the wrong side of the result on both occasions, and the former all-rounder will be looking to turn the tide and win the maiden CPL title this year.

“We’re very happy to have Daren on board as the new head coach for Saint Lucia Kings. He has been an integral part of the team once as a player, captain, and mentor. Now he will be seen in a new role as it's head coach and as always, will continue to inspire the team and propel them to greater heights."

“He was a natural choice given his natural skills both as a player and a leader, and I'm sure that under his stewardship Saint Lucia Kings will continue to be a force to reckon with," concluded Satish Menon, CEO, KPH Dream Cricket Pvt Ltd (who also own Punjab Kings in the IPL).