Chris Gayle has been appointed as vice-captain of the West Indies team for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. The move comes as yet another change in the thought process within the Windies Cricket Board (WICB) after the takeover by a new management.
Gayle, who last led West Indies in ODIs in June 2010, will be the deputy for Jason Holder in what is set to be his final ODI tournament.
Say hello to @windiescricket's vice-captain for #CWC19, @henrygayle! 👊 pic.twitter.com/cBmVNzlCgs
— ICC Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) May 6, 2019
“It is always an honour to represent the West Indies in any format and this World Cup for me is special. As a senior player it is my responsibility to support the captain and everyone else in the team. This will probably be the biggest World Cup, so there will be great expectations and I know we will do very well for the people of the West Indies,” said Gayle on the appointment.
A veteran of 289 ODIs, Gayle is not a part of the West Indies team currently playing a tri-nation series in Ireland.
Meanwhile, Shai Hope, who made a career-best 170 and added a record opening stand of 365 with John Campbell in the opening game against Ireland on Sunday, has been named as the vice-captain for the ongoing series.
“It’s a tremendous honour to be appointed vice captain for this series here in Ireland. Ahead of this tournament I was asked to take on this role and I was happy to accept. Anything I’m asked to do for West Indies cricket I’m always happy and willing to put my hand up, so this is great,” Hope said.
The tri-nation series is set to end on May 17 in Malahide before Jason Holder & Co. make their way to England for the World Cup that begins a fortnight later. Their World Cup campaign begins with a trip to Trent Bridge to face Pakistan on May 31.
