Darren Sammy, the West Indies Twenty20 captain, will make his BBL debut this coming summer after signing with the Hobart Hurricanes. Sammy is expected to be available for the first six matches of the tournament before joining West Indies for their training camp ahead of the 2015 World Cup.
Sammy was captain of West Indies in all formats until last year, when Dwayne Bravo was handed control of the ODI side, and Denesh Ramdin became Test captain earlier this year. However, Sammy remains in charge of the West Indies T20 outfit. He will join England's Alex Hales as the two international signings for the Hurricanes in 2014-15.
"With players like George Bailey, Alex Hales and Ben Dunk, there is a lot of exciting talent in the team already," Sammy said. "I am really looking forward to coming to Tasmania and taking part in the Big Bash League.
"I have heard so much about coach [Damien] Wright, he seems like a West Indian, very cool and an amazing fellow. A few of my [West Indian] team-mates might also be playing in the Big Bash League so I'm looking forward to the contest with them."
Sammy's lower-order striking has made him a dangerous batsman in the shorter formats and his canny bowling has allowed him to take 99 T20 wickets at 25.18 with an economy rate of 7.37. Wright said Sammy would be a fine addition to the Hurricanes' line-up.
"He's a really talented cricketer who can do a little bit of everything," Wright said. "He's a great leader as well and he's been captain of the West Indies for a number of years now also captaining the team for the T20 World Cup in 2012. Sammy will give us that lower-order hitting too which is something we didn't quite have last season."