ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Newly-appointed St Lucia Zouks skipper Darren Sammy has warned the region to brace for a “dangerous” Chris Gayle in the Caribbean Premier League scheduled to get underway in August.
The 40-year-old Gayle is the most successful Twenty20 batsman in history but at age 40, is in the twilight of his career, and has already been written off by many pundits as being past his best.
He notched a 22nd T20 hundred during last year’s CPL when he smashed 116 against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots but then ended the season with 243 runs at an average of only 24.
Sammy, recently appointed to lead Zouks this year, believes that recent poor campaign will be a huge motivator for the Jamaican.
“Chris Gayle is the most successful T20 batsman we have in the world and to have him playing with us in St Lucia, I can guarantee you once the tournament starts it will be a motivated Chris Gayle because of what went down in his hometown Jamaica,” Sammy told DBS Radio here. “I’ve seen situations where people put Chris Gayle under pressure where he has to even focus some more [and] that can be dangerous.
“I’m longing to be with him and I know St Lucia and the St Lucia Zouks will welcome him with open arms and I know he will be willing to show and looking to prove that he is still one of the best T20 batsmen going around.”
Gayle’s move to St Lucia came as a major shock especially since he had only returned to his native franchise for the 2019 season, following two years with Patriots.
But with Tallawahs winning just two of 10 games to finish bottom of the standings to miss out on the playoffs, Gayle was part of a shakeup that is also expected to see the departure of head coach Donovan Miller.
Sammy said Tallawahs’ loss had been Zouks’ gain and he hoped the two formed a happy alliance.
“I am really excited to have him with the franchise and like I said, hopefully we get to play CPL this year where he could again show the world that he is still the Universe Boss,” said the former West Indies captain.
For their part, Zouks has struggled since the start of the CPL, their best campaign coming in 2016 when they managed to reach the playoffs for the first and only time.
They were simply disastrous in 2017, losing nine of their 10 outings to finish the season winless, and were little better over the two seasons following, finishing one from bottom on each occasion in the six-team league.
Despite the lack of success, Sammy said he remained optimistic of a turnaround this year.
“It’s always an honour and a pleasure to lead any cricket team, especially one from your hometown,” said Sammy, who oversaw West Indies’ T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016.
“With that said, the St Lucia franchise has not had the best of CPLs but I’m always an optimistic guy. I’m somebody who never gives up and I feel that in the latter days of my career, my pride and my joy would be to bring some silverware to the St Lucian people via the CPL.
“So this year, hopefully by August, the COVID-19 situation is not as dangerous and would not prevent us from playing cricket, and I’m looking forward to leading the squad [then].”
The CPL is scheduled to run from August 19 to September 26.
