(Jamaica Gleaner) ‘I was forced to make this decision based on what was happening around me.”
Those were the words of former West Indies skipper Christopher Gayle, who yesterday defended his decision to travel to India to participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL), as opposed to waiting out a chance to represent the region in the upcoming Digicel Cricket Series against Pakistan.
Gayle and fellow senior players – one-time captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and former vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan – were not selected for the first T20 International and first two one-day internationals.
He has since accepted an offer to play in the IPL and is expected to turn out for Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes.
Yesterday, Gayle, while speaking from India on local sports radio KLAS FM 89, came out swinging in what he called an effort to reverse the attempts to destroy his reputation and set the record straight.
Mistreatment, poor communication, blatant threats on his West Indies career and a rocky relationship with West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) figureheads were all brought to the fore in a bare-all interview.
Gayle’s defence comes as the WICB, in a release issued to the media yesterday, blasted the 31-year-old for his decision and expressed disappointment in his move. The WICB cited their impression that the big-hitting left-hander was still recovering from injury.
Abdominal injury
The WICB said that while Gayle was recuperating from an abdominal strain suffered at the World Cup under the supervision of team medical personnel in Jamaica for the past two weeks, it repeatedly informed him he would be considered for the regional team duty when fit.
In the meantime, the board said Gayle wasn’t ready to be included in the squads for the opening Twenty20 international today and the first two one-dayers of a five-match series.
So it was “surprised’‘ to receive a note from Gayle saying he’d accepted a request from Royal Challengers Bangalore to join them as an injury replacement for the rest of the IPL and “applied to the WICB for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to cover the entire duration of the IPL, which clashes with the Pakistan leg of the Digicel Series.
“The WICB granted the NOC only after Gayle officially notified the board of his decision not to make himself available for selection for the Pakistan leg of the Digicel Series,” the WICB statement read.
“The WICB does not accept Gayle’s reason for making himself unavailable, but as he has already clearly made his choice and has travelled to India, the WICB does not wish to stand in his way.
“The WICB is most disappointed in the manner in which Gayle has handled the entire situation, especially given the mature and cooperativemanner in which two other players who refused contracts (central retainer) – Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard – made themselves available for selection and agreed to an understanding in the best interest of West Indies cricket,” the statement said. Gayle, who got injured during the recently concluded Cricket World Cup, has been receiving treatment since then, but argues that there was no effort by the regional leaders to contact him or assess his condition, and maintains that he was left with no alternative but to protect his livelihood in the Indian league.
Forced
“I was forced to make this decision based on what was happening around me, based on what was happening with other players like (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul and (Ramnaresh) Sarwan,” Gayle said. “Listen to me, I wanted to play, I wanted to represent the West Indies, that was my ultimate goal. I don’t have a contract and based on what was happening, I was forced to make that decision to come to India to play in the IPL.
“An opportunity presented itself, I didn’t know what was going to happen, a T20 squad was named, an ODI squad was named and I wasn’t told what was happening. I didn’t know what was going to happen. Two games can be played and guys perform well and I’ll be sitting out, I didn’t have any other choice but to take the opportunity (IPL),” Gayle added.
“I was worried and no one had the decency to actually call me. If they (WICB) had my interest at heart, they would call me to the camp, assess me and make their decision there; don’t come put it in the paper and tell me there that I am not selected without communicating with me and considering how I am feeling,” Gayle vented.
Gayle blasted the WICB for the way he had been treated and shared that he had been competing under tremendous stress in recent times.
“I have served West Indies cricket for so many years, they left me with no choice. I was disrespected a lot,” Gayle said. “I have been playing this cricket under a lot of stress and I wasn’t supposed to be selected for that World Cup squad, no one knows that. The public doesn’t know this, but I wasn’t supposed to be at that World Cup over one simple thing.” Gayle, who labelled himself a WICB target, also questioned the integrity of WICB’s CEO Ernest Hilaire who, he reminded, had openly cast questions over his captaincy before his ascension to his current post.
“First he (Hilaire) came out and said he didn’t want Chris Gayle to captain the West Indies team before he actually turned CEO,” Gayle reminded.
“Being captain, once I turned down the retainer, they (WICB) have been back and forth and I seem to be the only target. Even though I’m not the captain, maybe they feel I’m still in control. If they can get me out of the way, any way they can, the West Indies Cricket Board will be fine.”
