Chris Gayle has turned out in maroon colours for the West Indies in five World Cups, starting from 2003 in South Africa. But the 39-year-old swashbuckling opener who calls himself the 'Universe Boss' has not been able show the way for the Caribbean team in the context of winning the World Cup. He only managed to score 242 runs in nine matches, and his team after notching a stunning victory against Pakistan in the opening match, lost its way altogether.
Talking to Sportstar , Gayle who is the brand ambassador for adda52.com , an online poker gaming site, said that the West Indies as a team believed it had the wherewithal to qualify for the semi-finals, but was left disappointed in the end.
When asked to sum up his team’s display, Gayle said: "Absolutely disappointed not making the last four. I should not be here. But that’s life; in as much as we built the hopes of being in the semi-finals, we could not. Given the start we had in the first game against Pakistan, everybody was pumped up and believed that the team would advance to semi-finals. We should have gone for the kill against Australia and after losing this match we went a bit flat. We could not find the gear to come back. When one looks at the overall West Indies performance, we beat ourselves. We had some four or five games that were very close. We made small margins of error and that cost us.’’
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Right from the start of the competition in England, the West Indies fans believed that Andre Russell was probably not fit to play the World Cup. "We were determined to have him after the kind of form he showed in the IPL. We thought his confidence would be a big boost for the team. A fit Russell would have been more reliable for the team. He gave it all he had. He took crucial wickets, but he did not get the runs he wanted. He played his part as much as possible. Unfortunately we had to lose him.’’
Gayle believes that the ICC should go back to the old format of the World Cup. "Twelve teams split into two groups from which six teams play the Super Six and then the knock out from quarter-finals," Gayle said.
The Jamaican who made his international debut in 1999 has not announced his retirement and has shared his thoughts with the West Indies skipper Jason Holder. "I still have the passion for West Indies cricket and the process of playing cricket as well. I will continue to play as long as possible and share my experience with the players. They all want me to be involved with West Indies cricket. Contract or no contract, it doesn’t matter to me.’’ said Gayle adding that the home series against India would be close and interesting.
Eleven years ago during the inaugural IPL the dashing West Indian was introduced to poker by Rohan Gavaskar and he enjoyed playing the card game with Ashoke Dinda and Manoj Tiwary. "Now I am addicted to it. I am an amateur now, but would like to play some professional tournaments,’’ he said.
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