Chris Gayle, the cricket legend who revolutionized T20 cricket, has thrown his full support being West Indies to score big in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The towering six-footer and famous six-hitter said he has faith that Rovman Powell’s team can reach the final of the global event and from there “push for a third World Cup”. He said it would be an amazing ‘elixir’ for fans at home in the region and those supporters all over the world.
“We have a good team, a good all round team, and I believe we can do it again and make it three World Cup victories for the West Indies. I like what I see in the team. I would like to see them go all the way like we did against Sri Lanka in 2012 in Sri Lanka and 2016 against England in India.”
Gayle added:
“We have some brilliant players in the team and I was really impressed with the way they beat England on home soil last year, you could see the chemistry and true self-belief and you could also see togetherness and readiness from a team point of view.”
“Even though we didn’t win (the series) in Australia recently we played a good brand of cricket – we scored over 200 runs every time we batted. I’m a fan of Nicholas Pooran and I believe he will be ‘our batsman’ for the tournament. It’s also good to see Andre Russell back in the team – he’s a two-time World Cup winner and he brings great skills and loads of experience to this team.”
Gayle was speaking against the backdrop of the 100 Days To Go fan-friendly event in Barbados. The tournament will be played from 1 to 29 June in six countries in the West Indies and three cities in the United States. The Universe Boss was the specially invited Ambassador for the event which was staged at the Freedom Park in Golden Square in the heart of Bridgetown. He was a full participant as he danced with revelers in costumes, signed autographs, took photos and even tried his hand at dominoes.
Gayle was fully decked out in his T20 World Cup memorabilia – he had his 2016 winner’s medal around his neck and showcased his two shining gold rings presented by CWI to all winners in 2012 and 2016. He was joined by former team-mates and World Cup winners Sulieman Benn, Fidel Edwards, and Dwayne Smith at the all-day jamboree.
Gayle added:
“I love Barbados, I always enjoy my time on the island and I’m just thrilled to be here for this event. The last time I was here was for the Test match last year when Kraigg Brathwaite batted ‘so great’ against England. I’m hoping to be back at Kensington Oval on June 29 to see Rovman Powell lift the World Cup.”
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 will be co-hosted by West Indies and USA from 1 to 29 June. The event will be the largest in the tournament’s history with 20 international teams playing 55 matches across nine cities. It is the first time USA will host matches at a T20 World Cup, with 16 First Round matches split between Nassau County International Cricket Stadium (New York), Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium (Dallas) and Broward County Stadium (Lauderhill).
West Indies, who hosted the event in 2010, will hold matches at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (Antigua and Barbuda), Kensington Oval (Barbados), Guyana National Stadium (Guyana), Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (Saint Lucia), Arnos Vale (Saint Vincent and The Grenadines) and Brian Lara Cricket Academy (Trinidad and Tobago).