‘Lower-ranked teams need to play more games’ – Star West Indies batter’s bold statement to protect future of cricket

Star West Indies batter, Chris Gayle is worried about the future of international cricket as it is been ruled by top teams. There are a lot of concerns about the top three teams namely India, Australia, and England, who are currently leading international cricket across all formats. The West Indies legend is doubtful about the expansion of the game in smaller countries and believes that if things stay the same, spectators would get bored of watching the same teams consistently dominating the game.

“Yeah that is what I am talking about, that is where I am coming from. Pretty much these three teams are dominating international cricket. If we continue like this people are going to say ‘Hey we need a new team now taking over, new talents taking over and make a name for themselves’,” Gayle was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

It needs to be structured so that everyone can benefit: Chris Gayle

The 43-year-old went on to say that the cricket governing body should look into the salary disparity between the nations and that lower-ranked teams should be given more opportunities to play in order to help them improve their game.

“It needs to be structured so that everyone can benefit. The disadvantaged and lower-ranked teams need to play more games to develop their skills. Infrastructure needs to be created for them and those players need to be paid well just like the big teams because everyone is playing the same amount of cricket,” the left-hand batter asserted.

Gayle is considered as one of the most destructive openers in international cricket. Over 19000 runs have been scored by him while playing for West Indies in 103 Tests, 301 ODIs, and 79 T20Is. He was part of the successful West Indies teams that won the 2004 Champions Trophy, the 2012 T20 World Cup, and the 2016 T20 World Cup. He played his last game for his national side during the 2021 T20 World Cup and is been dropped from the since then.