[www.inewsguyana.com] – West Indies swashbuckling opening batsman Chris Gayle is set to undergo treatment for his back injury in Germany in order to be fully fit for the upcoming home Test series against New Zealand starting on June 8.
The Jamaican picked up the injury in the recently concluded T20 WC in Bangladesh and he was also forced to miss a few Indian Premier League (IPL) matches this season for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
“It started at the end of the T20 WC. I thought initially it was a simple thing, but I went back home for a couple of days,” Gayle told Indian Express.
“Then, I travelled back to Dubai to play in the IPL and when I started training, I found it difficult. I could not bat properly and bending was a problem. Sprinting between the wickets was a problem even though you guys don’t see me running much. It was difficult, but I tried my best,” he added.
The left-hander’s 100th Test has been scheduled at home in Jamaica, which is the first of the three-match Test series. Gayle felt that he should have reached the milestone much earlier and blamed the injuries for keeping him out of action.
“It will mean a lot to me. I have been serving West Indies cricket for the last 13 years and going on to 14 years now, I am actually looking forward to this milestone. I have missed out on the last couple of months because of injury. I was supposed to get past this milestone a long time back, but it didn’t happen. As a cricketer, these things happen and you pick injuries at crucial times,” he said.
With just about two weeks to go for the first Test, the West Indian is racing against time to be ready for the landmark Test and admitted that he is looking forward to the special occasion.
“It is going to be played at home so it is a big occasion for me and for the people back home too.” he said
“I still have an injury now and I am trying to get it sorted as quickly as possible so I can be fully fit for the special occasion. I don’t have much time but hopefully it will work out and I will be back on the field quickly,” he added.
Chris Gayle will be the ninth West Indian player to play 100 Test matches. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Courtney Walsh, Brian Lara, Sir Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Clive Llyod, Gordon Greenidge and Carl Hooper are the eight others who have already got there.
He was part of the 15-man squad that will train ahead of the 3-match Test series against New Zealand. The squad will be led by Denesh Ramdin.
Training Squad: Denesh Ramdin (captain), Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Kirk Edwards, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Shane Shillingford, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor.
