Cricket: Gayle’s absence to haunt West Indies

Tourists to face Bangladesh in one-off Twenty20 today.

DHAKA: The glaring absence of Chris Gayle stood out as the West Indies prepared to open their Bangladesh tour with a Twenty20 in Dhaka today.

The explosive left-hander was omitted for the tour, which also includes three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and two Tests, following a breakdown in his relationship with the West Indies Cricket Board.

As his compatriots warmed up in Bangladesh, Gayle emerged as the second highest scorer in the Champions League Twenty 20 in India with 257 runs in six matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

But coach Ottis Gibson played down the absence of both the star batsman and leading all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, preferring to bank on his young players to deliver in Bangladesh.

“Do we need our senior players? I think we need everybody who is committed to us,” said Gibson. “Some people will think we need them. We’re building a team and, of course, we need senior players that are committed to mix with the youngsters.

“The youngsters have taken the opportunity and done well for us. As we’re looking at the future, we’ll build a team around the younger guys.”

Earlier, Marlon Samuels made up for the senior players’ absence with an unbeaten 102 off 56 balls to help the tourists trounce the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI by 75 runs in a warm-up Twenty20 game on Sunday.

The West Indies piled up 195 for three in their 20 overs before restricting the home team to 120 for six to record a comprehensive win.

Meanwhile, for Bangladesh, wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim will begin his reign as captain in the Twenty20.

Rahim replaces leading all-rounder Shakibal Hasan, who was sacked last month after a disastrous tour of Zimbabwe.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2011.