West Indies putting faith in Gayle for World Cup

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle.
West Indies batsman Chris Gayle.
REUTERS/David Gray, file
West Indies Coach, Phil Simmons is backing veteran Chris Gayle to still be a force for the West Indies when the delayed ICC World Cup T20 tournament comes around in October in the UAE.
Gayle, 41, was a member of both the West Indies teams that became World Champions in 2012 and 2016. But the form of Twenty20’s cricket most prolific batsman has been questioned in recent years.
However, following Gayle Man-of-the-Match 67 in the third match of the recent series against Australia.
Gayle was not able to follow up on his latest effort with another big score, making just one.
West Indies Head Coach, Phil Simmons. Associated Press / Arnulfo Franco

Simmons stressed there was a definite role still for Gayle in the World Cup squad, Simmons told commentators Ian Bishop and Curtly Ambrose during the post match interview.

The half century was Gayle’s first in Twenty20 for the West Indies since 2016 and during it, he became the first man to score 14,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket.
Gayle said his focus was the World Cup itself.
Simmons declared that in the case of Gayle his role to the West Indies team went what he did on the field.