Famous Cricket conflicts in 2011 - Chris Gayle v West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)
The fine sport of Cricket has always been billed as a gentleman’s game, with its origins dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. However, years and decades down the road, cricket evolved just as the man did – who reshaped the whole
concept that is now left as nothing more than (as the gurus and old school veterans rate it) just ‘cricketainment’.
Though a debatable topic but for many, the evolution of the game does not only come with the cons, in fact many agree that the addition of new rules, newer formats and much more, the cricket of today has also earned some pros – the sport’s ever going appreciation
across the globe being one of them.
However, having said the above, this abstract looks at something different; an element that has been part of cricket for quite some time now, in fact, since it began – conflicts, an aspect which has been quite active (once again) since the dawn of year 2011.
To name a few, the ongoing conflict between Caribbean star player, Chris Gayle, and his West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) comes in as the first and much talked about for the year, and ironically with the closure to 2011 just around the corner, has yet not
come out with solid resolute.
It all began (technically) when West Indies earned itself a place in the last International Cricket Council (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221, made an unexpected exit from the roster, leaving a much infuriated Coach, Ottis
Gibson – but this was just the beginning to the whole issue.
The matter took more hype after Gayle opted to serve his domestic Indian Premier League (IPL) outfit, Royal Challengers Bangalore, keeping himself unavailable for national duty, when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 was scheduled to face the touring Pakistani team in a home
series involving Test and limited overs games.
As a result to this, Gayle was axed from the roster by the WICB, which kept the all-rounder out of the national squad for their next assignment against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 and then for their recent sub-continent assignment against the Bangladeshi hosts.
In response, Gayle stepped into the whole matter, making an emotional public announcement against the WICB.
The imposing all-rounder slammed the Board’s management as well as the administrators, revealing that the officials have barred all communications with the player and how the WICB has been treating the cricketer for some years now.
To add in more spice to the whole matter, Gayle blazed up his relationship with the Board after urging the Caricom governments and nations to intervene into the whole issue.
As a result, the matter was now added in with another partaker to it, after the Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo urged other states to pay heed into the whole rift and come out with an eventual resolution to it.
Even Jagdeo slammed WICB, stating that the Board and its management operated in manner as if it was a private entity and that it owned Caribbean cricket.
The whole conflict still standing in a balance, the stubborn WICB and its management is stuck to its decision, but based on the recent developments, the Board has urged Gayle to make an official apology to his claims against WICB, if he wanted to earn a
spot back on the national roster – in response to which, Gayle has refused to do so and has asked WICB to make a public explanation for what reason is required to apologize for.
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