T20 World Cup 2021: “His record here is not like that of the Gayle the world knows” - Salman Butt on Windies legend
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt reckons that West Indies batting legend Chris Gayle is likely to struggle during the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE since the pitches don’t suit his style of play. Butt stated that batters with better adaptation tactics will do well in the UAE in the ongoing the World Cup.
Some question marks have been raised over the selection of 42-year-old Gayle in the West Indies squad for the T20 World Cup 2021. The veteran southpaw was dismissed for a 30-ball 20 in the practice game against Pakistan and scored 13 as West Indies collapsed to 55 all-out in their first Super 12 clash against England in Dubai.
Reviewing Gayle’s performance so far, Butt hinted that the legendary batter might continue to find things difficult in the coming matches as well. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former Pakistan opener said:
“Chris Gayle is a big player and is known for his monster hits. But if you look at the pitches in the UAE and Chris Gayle’s performance when he has played in the PSL, his record here is not like that of the Chris Gayle the whole world knows.”
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Butt opined that batters need to be a lot more methodical to succeed in the UAE. He elaborated:
“Batters who have a better method to deal with conditions over here or those who are used to playing in similar conditions, like Asian countries, will be able to execute their plans better. You can look at the way Afghanistan batted on Monday. Of course, the pitch at Sharjah is playing better than how it did during the IPL.”
Gayle played only two matches for Quetta Gladiators during PSL 2021 and scored 107 runs.
“Still expect great things from Gayle” - West Indies’ assistant coach Roddy Estwick
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Although Gayle has been battling poor form for an elongated period of time in international cricket, Windies assistant coach Roddy Estwick backed him to do well in the upcoming games.
Speaking to reporters ahead of West Indies’ Super 12 clash against South Africa in Dubai on Tuesday, Estwick said:
"Chris is very experienced. If you look at a lot of the teams, they want to bowl their spinners. And we felt that at number three, it gives him a chance to have a matchup against the spin attack. Chris has been a wonderful servant for West Indies cricket. We still expect great things from him. But he also has a lot in terms of addressing the room and helping the younger players."
He added:
"Sometimes we tend to just look at performances and we tend to think that the numbers don't match up. But there's a lot more to a cricketer, and there's a lot more to an experienced player."
Gayle has scored a solitary half-century in his last 27 innings in international cricket across all formats over a period of five years.