(SportsMax) Chris Gayle has expressed his excitement as he prepares for his comeback on the international cricket stage. The 45-year-old self-proclaimed Universe Boss and undisputed king of T20 cricket, announced his comeback on Thursday as he prepares for the International Masters League, which is set to be played in front of thousands of fans in India. Gayle is part of the West Indies 15-member squad selected for the tournament.
The Twenty20 extravaganza runs from February 22 to March 16 with matches at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai; the Reliance Stadium in Vadodara and the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.
Gayle said: “I’m here in India and already you can feel the excitement around. We have some of the greatest players of all time participating and this is going to be a fantastic tournament, I promise you.”
The Jamaica and West Indies legend added: “We have because such big names including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Kumar Sangakarra, so that’s great for the fans, some who might never have seen them play before.”
Lara will lead the West Indies team, Tendulkar will lead India and Sangakarra will lead Sri Lanka. The other teams are Australia, South Africa, and England. Gayle said he expects a very competitive event.
Gayle is a two-time T20 World Cup winner, the second title coming in India in 2016. “I love what I’m seeing so far and what I’m hearing. You can’t take anything for granted, this is going to be a very competitive tournament and everyone is coming to play to win. I’m happy to hear Tino Best say he’s looking to bowl with great pace and that’s very good for us as a team. We also have the likes of Fidel Edwards to share the new ball with Tino as well. Those guys are still fit … those guys are still in good shape so it’s actually good from our team point of view.”
FULL SQUAD: Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, Chadwick Walton, Ashley Nurse, Narsingh Deonarine, Sulieman Benn, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Tino Best, Jerome Taylor, Kirk Edwards, William Perkins
