West Indian legend Chris Gayle has expressed his displeasure with the conventional and longest format of cricket, and has asked the International Cricket Council to assist lower-ranked countries in playing it more frequently. The 42-year-old believes that only a few countries are routinely given the opportunity to play Test cricket, and that as a result, smaller nations miss out.
Gayle has played in 103 Test matches for his country, amassing 7214 runs at a 42.18 average. He believes that teams like India, England, and Australia are given regular opportunity to play red-ball cricket, while the lower-ranked nations are overlooked.
“Test cricket is in a bit of trouble. I’m worried more about the lower-ranked teams. They are not getting full support. The game is such a business now and you have the lower-ranked teams getting one or two Test matches.
It’s always about England, India, and Australia. Those are the big teams who play four or five Test matches against each other, we don’t get that chance with the lower-ranked teams. It’s a struggle for us. We are always going to be down at the bottom and that’s not good for the sport.
It’s going to be a big challenge and the ICC needs to look into that. That’s very key,”
he told talkSPORT.
The player has a long history of success in the Twenty20 format, where he is recognised for his power hitting. From the 463 games he has played in his career, he has amassed 14562 T20 runs. With the T20 format hitting new heights and additional franchise-based competitions being added, he said he never expected the T20 format becoming so popular in such a short period of time.
Gayle has long been an advocate for the development of cricket in associate nations and other lower-ranked sides, and has backed up his words with action as well, as he has travelled all over the world, playing T20 leagues, not just in the cash-rich big-time tournaments, but also in the lesser-known competitions.
He is perhaps the greatest T20 player to ever step foot on a cricket field, having scored in excess of 14,500 runs in all T20s, miles ahead of all his peers. He also holds the record for the fastest fifty in T10 cricket, another feather in the cap of the great man. He also has in his trophy cabinets two T20 World Cups, in 2012 and 2016, playing a major part in his side’s success on both occasions.
“At first, I was looking at the easy way out. Shorter format, you can finish quicker. I wasn’t really looking to the future. What is happening today, I wasn’t really expecting that. Since that game, the Stanford game, the $20million game.
That changed everything within the sport of T20. That’s why you see so many leagues now. The IPL is the biggest one and pays out more. You can get a future out of this game. T20 cricket is a life-changing aspect, it changes a lot of lives. It has for me. I’m really happy where it’s at today,”
he remarked.
With the ICC releasing their annual report just a few days ago, there is hope amongst the lower-ranked nations that the subsequent years will present more opportunities, as they aim to gradually move up the ladder in international cricket.
