It’s Chris Gayle this time

The disputes between the payers and their respective boards have been increasing from the past few years. Be, it Sourav Ganguly and his rift with the coach, Shahid Afridi and the PCB matter or more recently Australia’s Simon Katitch, classy players who have devoted their time for the team have to see the ugly side of the cricketing world too.

Also Read: India Tour Of England 2011 – Complete Schedule

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) officially has criticized hard on former captain Chris Gayle but feels the necessity to have a proper communication.

The WICB said, “It was proposed that the WICB management would write to Gayle after the meeting to outline the way forward.”

But the president and CEO of the West Indies Players’ Association, Dinanath Ramnarine, specifically said the WICB should not be writing to the cricketers individually.

Reacting to this, the Board said, “The meeting with Gayle ended in uncertainly though, as Mr. Ramnarine insisted that the WICB has no business writing to players and under no circumstances should the WICB be writing to Gayle or any player for that matter as it is his view that the players are not the employees of the WICB. The Board of Directors of the WICB will receive a report from the CEO, Dr. Ernest Hilaire, on the meeting with Gayle and the behavior, actions and conduct of Mr. Ramnarine during the meeting with Gayle.”

The WICB said, “The WICB Board of Directors would need to provide policy guidelines on how to handle players who for reasons other than fitness or personal distress, make themselves unavailable for selection but expect to be selected whenever they deem it necessary to make themselves available.”

It is a very elaborate process, explaining the difficulties of dealing with the explosive opener. The Board said, “The WICB team outlined to Gayle that the Board has had issues historically in communicating with him and establishing a productive working relationship. Exceptional efforts had been made, especially during his tenure as captain, to establish that relationship.”

The WICB added: “Gayle was previously written to by the Board about these issues. The issues include his social media announcements that he was taking a break from the game, that the Sri Lanka tour had been cancelled. He has demonstrated an unwillingness to engage the Board.”

In a particular radio interview, Gayle had remarked that Coach Ottis Gibson had damaged Ramnaresh Sarwan’s confidence. This made things made things worse.

The WICB said: “This pattern of behavior culminated with his widely-publicised interview on KLAS radio in Jamaica. WICB is of the view that the comments had a detrimental effect on the relationship with the West Indies team management, the WICB management and was unbecoming of a professional sportsman who would desire to play within that same team environment.”The Board revealed, “The Gayle team did not share this view and articulated their position that Gayle’s conduct was a response to how he felt the Board treated him and had tarnished his name and reputation. There was a frank exchange on the differing views.”

Following this, Chris Gayle had sought a proper explanation about the Indian tour.

The WICB said, “Gayle sought an explanation as to why he was not picked for the India series. The WICB team explained that the comments made by him in the KLAS interview had created much ill-will with the team management and unless there was a settling of differences, it would be difficult to see how the parties could harmoniously function. That the WICB management had to establish with him the necessity to respect rules and regulations and his willingness to engage, in a constructive manner, on matters which are of concern to him.”

The woes of Chris Gayle date to immediately after the World Cup. He fortunately agreed to join the RCB in the recent version of Indian Premier League and showed his mighty prowess there too. Instead of harnessing his energy and developing his talent, the WICB management has petty issues with him. Chris Gayle is so frustrated and disillusioned with his Cricket Board officials that he might consider walking away from the national team. Sadly for West Indies cricket, this is one showdown that does not seem like ending soon.

Tags: Chris Gayle, Cricket, Dinanath Ramnarine, Dr. Ernest Hilaire, West Indies, West Indies Cricket Board, WICB