NEWLY appointed Twenty20 captain Carlos Brathwaite does not expect a change in leadership to negatively impact the West Indies team.Brathwaite recently replaced St Lucian Darren Sammy as head of the two-time World Twenty20 champions and is officially expected to take charge of the team in the upcoming series against India.
Despite being expected to take the reins of the squad over several more seasoned players the 27-year-old claims the initial response has been good so far.
“I think a team like this will be pretty easy to lead, from the point of view that the dressing room is a fun place to be. I don’t think it’s a case where I have to negotiate too many egos,” Brathwaite said.
“The guys enjoy each other’s company. It’s just a matter for me to go there, do the things that I can do, firstly as a player and then a captain, continue to mould the team that Darren has started to mould, efficiently. The most important thing is getting victories for the West Indies,” he added.
Brathwaite claims support from former captain Sammy was key in making the proposed transition to the job seem a lot easier.
“He just told me, ‘Congratulations’. He heard it before I spoke to him, and he just said, ‘Congratulations, it’s a big challenge’. He gave me his blessing and as a senior guy appreciated it, which allowed me to ease into the role.”