Former West Indies fast bowler Curtly Ambrose drew a sharp reaction from Chris Gayle for not picking ‘the Universe Boss’ for his West Indies XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Criticising Ambrose for ‘negative things’ he said, Gayle said that ‘he was finished with Curtly Ambrose.’
“I am speaking about Curtly Ambrose. I am singling out Curtly Ambrose, one of your own. I highly respected him when I came into the West Indies team,” Gayle told The Island Tea Morning Show, a radio station in St Kitts, on Tuesday.
The upcoming T20 World Cup begins on Sunday in UAE. “When I just joined the team, I looked up to this man. But I am now speaking from my heart. I don’t know what, since he retired, what he had against Chris Gayle. Those negative things he has been saying within the press, I don’t know if he is looking for attention, but he is getting the attention. So I am just giving back the attention which he requires and which he needs,” said Gayle, who was part of the 2012 and 2016 World Cup-winning sides.
“I can tell you personally, and you can let him know that Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss, have no respect for Curtly Ambrose whatsoever. I am finished with Curtly Ambrose,” the 42-year old said. “I have no respect, any time I see him I will tell him as well — ‘Stop being negative, support the team ahead of the World Cup.’ This team has been selected and we need past players to support us. We need that, we don’t need negative energy. In other teams, their past players support their teams, why can’t our own support us in a big tournament like this?
“We have won the tournament twice, and we will be going for the third title. The team has seen what is happening. It is going to reflect on the team. I am not going to take anything from any senior player. Curtly Ambrose pull your socks up, alright? Support for West Indies, ok? Support West Indies, that is the thing.”
Gayle had left the IPL bubble to prepare and avoid fatigue for the ICC event in UAE. But Ambrose pointed out Gayle’s lack of consistency this year, having accumulated just 227 runs in 16 T20Is, averaging 17.46 with a lone fifty to his name, since the start of 2021 season.
“For me, Gayle is definitely not an automatic choice for starting,” Ambrose had said on a radio talk show in Barbados. “When you look at his exploits over the last 18 months, he has struggled not only for the West Indies, but other T20 franchises. The few home series we played, he hasn’t had any scores of significance.”
