`The knee is swollen a lot and bruised a lot. So let’s see what happens’
NOTTINGHAM, England, CMC – Chris Gayle faces a possible non-starter for West Indies’ final group match against Sri Lanka today in the World Twenty20 Championship.
The West Indies captain is still hobbled, after he was struck on his right knee by a delivery from Mitchell Johnson during his swashbuckling 88 against Australia at The Oval last Saturday.
“I’m carrying a bit of an injury, and I don’t know if I might be playing yet, so it’s a situation that we need to look at,” said Gayle.
“When I was batting [on Saturday] I didn’t feel it. But the next day, I couldn’t walk properly, and I’m just trying to get back in my stride now.
“The knee is swollen a lot and bruised a lot, so let’s see what happens.”
Gayle’s mobility has improved, and he even tried to bat during West Indies’ training session on the eve of the match.
But West Indies do not have to risk the big left-hander, since they and the Sri Lankans face no pressure in the match having already qualified for the next stage of the Championship, after knocking Australia out of the competition.
They may still prefer to have him fit and in the line-up, so that they can gain some momentum ahead of the Super Eights.
West Indies have been identified as one of the favourites in the competition, and they would not want to scupper their chances at the expense of expediency.
“We know we have a team that can beat the best, but in Twenty20 it all depends on how one plays on a given day,” said Gayle.
“We take it one match at a time. We definitely want to beat Sri Lanka which will raise the team’s confidence for the Super Eights.”
Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has warned that he is eager to shatter the dreams of some more teams in the competition, and West Indies are one of the teams that are now clearly in his sights.
“This was the only group that had three Test-playing nations in it, so to come out of it pretty well is a huge bonus,” he said.
“Both West Indies and us have made the Super Eights, so the pressure will no doubt be a bit less. But international cricket is serious business, there is no question of taking it easy.”
A key weapon for Sangakkara and Sri Lanka will be mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis. He snared three of Australian scalps in his side’s tournament opener, and the Sri Lanka captain is looking for the spin bowler to play a major role.
“In a Twenty20 game, where you have to attack almost every ball you play, to have unpredictability, that mystery around him is good,” Sangakkara said.
“Batsmen will get on top of him on some days, but more often than not, he is a wicket-taking bowler, an attacking bowler.”
Squads:SRI LANKA : Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Muttiah Muralitharan (vice captain), Indika de Saram, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekara, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Matthews, Ajantha Mendis, Jehan Mubarak, Chamara Silva, Thilan Thushara, Isuru Udana
WEST INDIES : Chris Gayle (captain), Denesh Ramdin (vice captain), Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, Dave Bernard, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Xavier Marshall, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor.
