Agency :
Cricket West Indies (CWI) are open to the idea of handing Chris Gayle a farewell game in his hometown. The 42-year-old Jamaican had recently expressed his desire to play his last game in his hometown and the CWI said it is not averse to the idea.
“We would like to. It is at the idea level. No decision on timing or format has been made,” Ricky Skerritt, the president of the Caribbean board, told Cricbuzz on Saturday (November 27). CWI CEO Johnny Grave has also hinted that the farewell could be a T20I against Ireland in January.
“We’re going to play three ODIs against Ireland in the second week of January and then one T20 at Sabina Park and I think that would, hopefully, if fans are allowed into Sabina Park a good opportunity for us to say farewell to Chris at his home ground,” Grave told a radio station recently. However, Skerritt clarified that no decision has been made if an Ireland game will be Gayle’s farewell match. “Media has been misinterpreting a simple comment made by the CEO,” the CWI chief said.
Gayle, a veteran of 103 Tests, 301 ODIs and 79 T20Is in an international career spanning 22 years, said that he wanted to bow out by thanking his fans. “I didn’t announce any retirement but if they actually give me one game in Jamaica to go in front of my home crowd, then I can say ‘hey guys, thank you so much,'” the West Indian batting legend said during the recent Twenty20 World Cup in which West Indies failed to make the knockouts.
Meanwhile on Friday, the CWI announced squads for a tour of Pakistan amid reports that some West Indies players were uncomfortable travelling to the country. Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell and Lendl Simmons were not picked in the squads that has a number of uncapped players. The CWI said Holder has been rested and others were unavailable due to personal reasons.
“CWI is committed to the Pakistan white ball tour. The fact that a few players have made themselves unavailable for personal reasons is not an indication of apprehension. I am confident that we will have a touring squad that is focused on playing good competitive cricket,” Skerritt told this website. West Indies are slated to play three ODIs and as many Twenty20 Internationals in December.
The ODIs are a part of Super League in which the top seven teams can secure automatic qualification for the World Cup 2023 in India. West Indies currently lie in eighth position out of 13 teams. All games will be played in Karachi, from December 13 to 22.
