Chris Gayle will definitely represent West Indies in 2019 World Cup if fit, says Jason Holder

Hyderabad: He may have chosen the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) over international cricket, but Chris Gayle will “definitely play” next year’s World Cup, provided his near 40-year-old-body is able to withstand the rigours, West Indies captain Jason Holder said Wednesday. Gayle, who is not a centrally contracted West Indies cricketer, signed off his List A career for Jamaica with a century against Barbados last week and will now play for Balkh Legends in APL. [caption id=“attachment_4379347” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of explosive West Indies batter Chris Gayle. Image credit: Twitter/@cricketworldcup[/caption] “He (Gayle) is definitely going to play the World Cup once his body holds up and he’s fit. We’d welcome him into the team. If you go back to the beginning of the year, Chris made himself available for the World Cup qualifiers. He only did that really because he wants to play the World Cup, he wants to play well for West Indies and he wants to do well,” Holder said. Holder said that Gayle’s exploits in international cricket has made him a household name in T20 leagues and no one should grudge that. “When he does that he has plenty of options around the world to make money it says something about the individual, says something about what he wants and I really admire that. He was obviously a pivotal part in us qualifying to the World Cup,” Holder said. Often a player of Gayle or Marlon Samuels’ calibre would find it difficult to motivate themselves against associate nations, like it happened during the ICC Qualifier, but they never lacked intensity. “Guys like him, Marlon Samuels, who really made themselves available on that instance (ICC Qualifiers), credit must go to them and not only them, to each and every individual who have come up to represent West Indies. “They knew the significance and importance of that tournament; we played against teams we probably weren’t accustomed to playing against. It was difficult. But as the series went on, we rallied well and we achieved the objective.” However, Holder went on the defensive when asked about Gayle’s choice of club over country. “Not worried. Chris is an all-star and I think it’s clear he’s probably at the back end of his career now. He’s probably tapering off a bit. I just saw him play his last List A game for Jamaica, scoring a hundred against my home team, which is great to see. I enjoy having Chris around. “I think he’s one of the most entertaining players in the world but his absence gives another player an opportunity. We have a limited time leading up to the World Cup and it’s a good option to see what we have in the tank,” Holder said.