West Indies cricket stands to lose the talented opener Chris Gayle after his meeting with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) officials in Jamaica on Tuesday failed to bring both parties together. A well placed source close to the meeting told the Trinidad Guardian, Gayle is despondent after the meeting and may turn away from West Indies cricket. “Chris wants to play cricket for the West Indies. He wants to play really badly and this is why he turned up for the meeting. However, what was said and how it was said at the meeting has left him rather frustrated and he may now look at taking his game away from the West Indies. “This is a man who has served West Indies cricket well in the past and he was also captain of the regional team. However, he was treated very badly by one individual at the meeting and this has left him in a state.”
This meeting was called following the West Indies opener’s highly-publicised, controversial interview on a Jamaican radio station, where he slammed the WICB, and was also critical of Chief Executive Officer Ernest Hilaire, West Indies coach Ottis Gibson and West Indies captain Darren Sammy. Gayle was accompanied by Executive President of the West Indies Players’ Association Dinanath Ramnarine and WIPA Vice President Wavell Hinds to a near four-hour long meeting that took place at the Pegasus Hotel.
Hilaire, Gibson, West Indies Team Operations Manager Richie Richardson, and WICB Chief Cricket Operations Officer Tony Howard represented the regional governing body.
The source further stated : “Chris was penalised (by being dropped from the West Indies team) before he was given a hearing. This was totally unfair and was aired at the meeting. “Also one official who represented the WICB was very provocative towards Chris and was not even allowing him to answer questions posed to him. This was very unfortunate.” The findings of the meeting will be taken to the directors of the WICB, following which a decision will be made about Gayle’s role in West Indies cricket. In the meantime, Gayle has been left frustrated and with all the lucrative T20 tournaments being played all around the world, it is likely he may turn to this form of the game and Test cricket will no longer see the devastating left handed Jamaican.
