WI board needs to cut it out: Gayle
Former captain says board ‘playing mind games’.
Former captain Chris Gayle has asked the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to ‘state clearly’ what it wants him to apologise for as the opening batsman continues to watch the national team from the sidelines.
The WICB had earlier said that the 32-year-old would be considered for national selection only after he retracted his statements about the board and its officials.
However, a puzzled Gayle said the WICB was ‘playing mind games’ and should come out in the open.
“They need to come clear and say what I should apologise for, and what should I retract, what are the terms,” Gayle told the Caribbean Media Corporation. “Rather than stating just one particular thing and leaving the public to speculate again, and just make this one big issue, which I’m tired of, so they need to just cut it out now.”
Gayle and the WICB have seen a strained relationship after the former captain gave an interview in April, where he was mocking the board and coach Ottis Gibson. After attempts at reconciliation failed and Gayle was dropped from the squad for the home series against India, the batsman stated beginning of the dispute back to 2009 when, according to Gayle, Ernest Hilaire, who was not the WICB chief then, casted doubt on his leadership abilities.
The former captain has not played for West Indies since this year’s World Cup but was an integral part of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 28th, 2011.
The WICB had earlier said that the 32-year-old would be considered for national selection only after he retracted his statements about the board and its officials.
However, a puzzled Gayle said the WICB was ‘playing mind games’ and should come out in the open.
“They need to come clear and say what I should apologise for, and what should I retract, what are the terms,” Gayle told the Caribbean Media Corporation. “Rather than stating just one particular thing and leaving the public to speculate again, and just make this one big issue, which I’m tired of, so they need to just cut it out now.”
Gayle and the WICB have seen a strained relationship after the former captain gave an interview in April, where he was mocking the board and coach Ottis Gibson. After attempts at reconciliation failed and Gayle was dropped from the squad for the home series against India, the batsman stated beginning of the dispute back to 2009 when, according to Gayle, Ernest Hilaire, who was not the WICB chief then, casted doubt on his leadership abilities.
The former captain has not played for West Indies since this year’s World Cup but was an integral part of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 28th, 2011.