Don't have any regrets on missing West Indies and Bangladesh tour: Australia all-rounder Daniel Sams

MELBOURNE: Australia all-rounder Daniel Sams is still comfortable with the decision to make himself unavailable for the tour of the West Indies and Bangladesh.

Daniel took this decision to prioritise his mental health after the challenges of the IPL, which included getting positive for the COVID-19 before the tournament. He was one of the eight players, including the injured Steven Smith, unavailable for the current tour of Australia.

"It was quite challenging with getting COVID in India, but it's been really good to be home. Don't have any regrets, obviously I've had thoughts of 'wish I was there' but in the end I made the decision that's best for me long term," ESPNcricinfo quoted Sams as a saying.

"My relationship is the most important thing, one of the biggest reasons for me pulling out was so I can connect back with my wife Danii because we'd never been apart for that long. That was definitely a priority and then my mental health as well."

Sams, who has played four T20Is, retains hope of making the final cut for the T20 World Cup. He showed his batting power with 41 off 15 balls against New Zealand in Dunedin and has eyes on the finisher's position.

"I'd like to improve on my bowling a little internationally," he said. "But I feel more than confident I can be a big part of the Australian T20 team. I'd like to bat as high as possible, but being realistic batting seven, there's been a lot of talk about the finisher role, and that's something I feel I could potentially do."

Earlier on Thursday, Australia defeated West Indies by 4 runs in the 4th T20I at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium. Mitchell Starc, the hero for Australia, defended 11 runs in the last over against the big hitter Andre Russell.