DELHI – Sunil Gavaskar’stake on Chris Gayle’s approach to batting in the 2011 World Cup is that it was if it was a Twenty20 tournament.
“He has invariably got out within that span,” the former Indian captain, now television commentator, wrote in his column in the Times of India on Friday.
“Gayle goes out and starts slamming the ball from the first over itself,” Gavaskar stated.
“This sort of batting does not last against quality bowling and this is exactly what happened (in the quarter-final loss to Pakistan) as Gayle found himself caught at mid-off (in the third over off Umar Gul for 8).”
Gavaskar drew a comparison with India’s opener Virender Sewag who was previously “guilty of a similar approach”.
“He too was only getting wonderfully entertaining 30s and 40s and the occasional half-century but which werenot of much use to the team,” he explained.
“Now that he is giving himself more time in the middle he is making massive contributions to the team . . . and doing justice to his talent.”
Although not named, Gayle was clearly among those taken to task by head coach Ottis Gibson after their ten-wicket quarter-final defeat put them out of the Cup.
“Our senior players have not performed and I am not especially happy with them,” Gibson told the media.
“Our main batsmen haven’t performed consistently. We need some senior guys who have the hunger and the desire.”
Gayle, 31, the established opening batsman in 228 ODIs, “had only one worthwhile score”in his five World Cup matches (he missed two through injury) – 80 against the Netherlands.
Sir Viv Richards, their former captain in India as television and newspaper analyst, blamed the West Indies collapse to 112 all out on their lack of planning and their mental weakness.
“There is an abundance of talent but, sadly, there is a paucity of thought and mental strength,” he wrote in his syndicated newspaper column.
He charged that the West Indies did not seem to have a plan to deal with Pakistan’s spinners in the quarter-final.
“The West Indies batsmen seemed leaden-footed and were almost stuck to the crease,” he added. “This was exemplified by the dismissal of Darren Sammy (who) was on the backfoot and seemed reluctant to be light-footed.”
And Richards, the most commanding batsman of his time and part of the great West Indies teams of the 1980s, had some advice for “certain players” in the present team who “resent the constant harking back to the achievements of the past”.
“If you don’t like hearing about the glorious past, the best thing to do is to create history youself,” he stated, “Sadly, this is where the current West Indies team has fallen short.”