West Indies top batsman Chris Gayle has said that he is willing to play in the 2019 Cricket World Cup after the relations between the players and the cricket board showed signs of improvement.
Gayle, T20 cricket’s all-time leading run-scorer, has previously insisted he hasn’t retired from any format of international cricket, though he hasn’t played a one-day international since the 2015 World Cup, while his last Test was in 2014.
Gayle last week played his first match for the Windies since their thrilling World T20 final triumph over England in April last year.
The destructive left-hander made 18 in their one-off T20 against India in Jamaica but was outshone by his opening partner Evin Lewis, who struck a blistering 62-ball 125.
“It was a great feeling wearing the maroon in front of the home crowd. I didn’t realise at the time how long I was out,” the 37-year-old said in Bengaluru on Thursday.
“The fans were happy to see me back on the field representing West Indies.
“Hopefully, things can get better. Hopefully, I can play a few more games. I definitely want to play the 2019 World Cup.
“Things are beginning to open up a little more now between players and the board. It’s looking good, and we’ve to try and build from this to get the best players out on the field.”
The board may also relax its stance on compelling players to represent their regional sides in order to be selected for the West Indies, which has effectively forced some of the Caribbean’s leading lights to choose between the lure of domestic T20 tournaments and playing international cricket.
The Windies, ranked ninth on the International Cricket Council’s ODI standings, didn’t feature at last month’s Champions Trophy, could also miss out on automatically qualifying for the 2019 World Cup.
They could sneak past eighth-ranked Sri Lanka but they’d need to win four or five matches of their five-game ODI series against England in September, and hope the Islanders fail to win at least two matches of their 50-over campaign against India next month.
Only the top-eight ranked ODI teams will automatically qualify for the World Cup, with the bottom four sides to play off in a 10-team ICC event alongside associate nations next year. The top two teams from that tournament will feature at the 2019 showpiece event.
“With our experience, we (seniors) will try and share as much as we can before we go,” Gayle continued.
“(The) 2019 (World Cup) is just around the corner. We don’t want to miss out like what happened at the Champions Trophy.
“We will try and push hard and everyone can work collectively to make sure we’re part of the World Cup.”