Chris Gayle has been named vice-captain of West Indies for the World Cup 2019. In what will be his last ODI tournament, the left-handed opener will be deputy to skipper Jason Holder.
Gayle has led West Indies in the past, with his most recent appearance as skipper being in 2010. He has been in and out of the national side in the last few years owing to issues with the cricket board, and is not a part of the side for the ongoing ODIs against England as he was busy with the Indian Premier League.
“It is always an honour to represent the West Indies in any format and this World Cup for me is special. As a senior player it is my responsibility to support the captain and everyone else in the team. This will probably be the biggest World Cup, so there will be great expectations and I know we will do very well for the people of the West Indies,” Gayle said.
Gayle has been in fine form in one-day cricket. He scored 135, 50, 162 and 77 in his most recent appearance in the format – against England earlier this year – that helped them draw level in the series. He has played 289 ODIs scoring 10151 runs with 51 half-centuries and 25 centuries.