In a very surprising announcement, West Indian batsman Chris Gayle has decided to reverse his decision of retiring from one-day international cricket after the 2019 Cricket World Cup. This announcement was made by the former captain at the pre-match press conference on the eve of his team's match against India on June 27. When asked about his future plans, Gayle offered an answer which left everyone surprised and unsure about what the left-handed batsman has in mind.
"It's still not the end. I still have a few games to go. Maybe another series to go, as well. Who knows, we will see what happens. My plans are for the World Cup. Maybe a Test match against India and then I'll play, definitely play the ODIs against India. I won't play the T20s. That's my plan after World Cup," the man known as 'Universe Boss' said.
The Indian team would be visiting the Caribbean shores in August and would play a three-match ODI and T20I series which will be followed by two Test matches which will be part of the World Test Championship. It is worth remembering here that Gayle hasn't represented West Indies in Test cricket for many years and his appearances in limited-overs competitions also has been very sporadic.
The man who has scored more than 7000 Test runs and is one of the very few players to have scored two triple-hundreds in Test cricket, has mainly been plying his trade in T20 leagues, such as Indian Premier League and Big Bash League, around the world. He made a comeback to the West Indies team during England's tour of West Indies where he was part of the home side in the limited-overs series.
It was before the series that he announced his retirement from international cricket after the World Cup. However, he scored heavily in the 5-match ODI rubber, prompting many to ask why he was retiring. Despite not having as much success in the World Cup as expected, he has looked in good form. It is unlikely that he would be brought back into the Test team. It would be interesting to see if the Windies selectors let him play in the West Indies side.
