Time for Chris Gayle to step up

Chris Gayle had a lukewarm tournament so far and need to step up in the quarter-final. (Source: Reuters)

Since the tearful departure of Brian Lara during the 2007 World Cup, Chris Gayle has had the chance to be West Indies’ numero-uno man.(Full Coverage| Venues | Fixtures)

He was not the immediate choice to be the captain following Lara’s departure, as that role went to Ramnaresh Sarwan, but he eventually got the role later in 2007.

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Gayle should ideally have taken up the mantle of being the man who would have rallied the entire Caribbean. Gayle captained West Indies in 20 Tests and there was hardly evidence that the burden of being the marked man had put him under pressure.
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For a brief while in 2009, West Indies seemed to have struck on a formula of the past. They beat England 1-0 at home, then challenged Australia later that year Down Under only to go down fighting 0-2. West Indies did not build on this as the side once again slipped back to the old narrative in their cricket.

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During those 20 Tests of Gayle’s captaincy, his batting returns were an impressive 1528 runs with a best of 197 at an average of 47.75. These numbers were way better than his career stats.

Gayle also had a productive time in ODI cricket. Again his form did not get affected as he scored 1966 runs in 53 matches as a leader. His average of 43.68 was way better than his career returns of 37.23. He scored four hundreds in the period between July 2007 and July 2010 when he was in charge.

But the problem was elsewhere. It was in his mind. Gayle never challenged himself to take up the mantle of being the mentor of the side. He had a the entire Caribbean at his feet because they wanted him to the next rallying point.

With Sarwan slipping into obscurity and the other senior pro Shivnarine Chanderpaul not being considered for captaincy, Gayle had the opportunity to make this era his own. His constant fights with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over Indian Premier League (IPL) assignments and other issues always hindered his rise to the next level.

The West Indies board has been forced to look at the likes of Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Jason Holder for leadership roles because their seniormost pro did not really inspire confidence.
Even with the bat since losing his captaincy Gayle has been below par especially in ODI cricket.

Since 2011 in 48 ODIs, Gayle has scored 1275 runs at a paltry average of 27.71. In fact, in the last four years he has scored just three hundreds. His third and best-ever effort came in the 2015 World Cup, when he slammed a career-best 215 against Zimbabwe. This knock against Zimbabwe was also his first hundred in ODI cricket since June 2013 when he slammed 109 against Sri Lanka.

Gayle owes a lot to West Indies cricket, but he has sadly occupied his mind elsewhere. He needs to contribute more than a brief spark here and there, if West Indies are to continue remaining an entity. Gayle has to raise himself to think once again as a leader, only this time with the bat.

The more he does that, the better it will be for West Indies cricket. Gayle needs West Indies, rather than the other way round. So his time is now to make a mark and prove that he is still the man of the moment.

If he fires at Wellington on Saturday, West Indies could well be two steps closer towards regaining their lost glory.

Source:: Indian Express