Is Chris Gayle ruining his career

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Thread starter #1
Is anyone else think Gayle is just ruining his cricket career by just moving from one t20 comp to another. Heres an example of his schedule for this cricket calander year


late nov/ early dec- played in zimbabwe t20 comp
december/january - aussie big bash comp, sydney thunder
feb - signed for Bangladesh t20 premier league
feb/march - Signed for dolphins, south africa t20 comp
april/may - IPL
june to august - English t20 comp, signed for somerset
sept to october- t20 champions league or t20 icc world cup??

I dont know what the issue is with him and the west indies cricket board is, but, personally, id rather see gayle blast a test 100 (eg- waca a couple of years ago) then see him hot n cold like a motel shower playing innings after innings in t20 comps. I know big 6s are exciting but it tires after a while.

any thoughts?
 

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#3
The T20 competitions have given a lot of power to the cricketer.

Very few nations reward their test cricketers like Australia does.

In the past - cricketing associations could tell players to take the offer or they'll play someone else. now Gayle has the ability to earn far more on his own than he could through the West Indies who have offered (in Gayle's eyes) a sub-standard contract.

To each their own - not everyone has to covet test cricket like we do.
 

DrVanNostrand

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#5
hasnt he admitted he isnt interested in playing test matches?

I don't think he'd be playing 4-day cricket for Jamaica if that was the case.

I don't blame him. If the WICB want to be so precious that it excludes their most important player, then why shouldn't be make the most of his career even if it is outside the realm of international cricket.

BTW, he won't be at the World T20 in Sri Lanka because he didn't play in the West Indies domestic T20 competition last month - another masterstroke ( :rolleyes: ) selection policy of the WICB.

I also read that he'd signed for the Dolphins in South Africa...don't know when that is, though.
 

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#6
The West Indies cricket team is generally poor, so obviously he wants to go win some games and make money while he's at it.
 

The Passenger

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#7
The T20 competitions have given a lot of power to the cricketer.

Very few nations reward their test cricketers like Australia does.

In the past - cricketing associations could tell players to take the offer or they'll play someone else. now Gayle has the ability to earn far more on his own than he could through the West Indies who have offered (in Gayle's eyes) a sub-standard contract.

To each their own - not everyone has to covet test cricket like we do.
ultimately this post is correct.

i wrote not long about the need to try and make instances like this isolated, rather than becoming the norm.

and if we can keep them very much isloated to blokes who are into their 30's, or very late 20's, then you just have to accept it.

but if it becomes rampant amongst young promising cricketers, than cricket will have a problem on it's hands.
 

FRUMPY

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#8
very east to sit here and bag players from sides like the West Indies who make bugger all money playing at the top level for their 'country'.

An australian player who plays for their country as long as he has would be earning millions ala Ponting, Clarke etc. He wouldnt have been earning nearly as much.

T20 is a way for him to make the coin he dserves to make. Its also the way of the future for players coming into the twighlight of their careers.

I also dont think it has hurt the WI's. They have been able to find a few players up the top of their batting order the last 12-18 months with him out of the side.
 

Tiff

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#9
very east to sit here and bag players from sides like the West Indies who make bugger all money playing at the top level for their 'country'.

An australian player who plays for their country as long as he has would be earning millions ala Ponting, Clarke etc. He wouldnt have been earning nearly as much.

T20 is a way for him to make the coin he dserves to make. Its also the way of the future for players coming into the twighlight of their careers.

I also dont think it has hurt the WI's. They have been able to find a few players up the top of their batting order the last 12-18 months with him out of the side.
I don't think anyone is bagging him.

It's a shame, but playing test cricket for the WI just doesn't give him the credit he deserves for being the elite batsmen that he is.

He would earn peanuts compared to the big Australian and British names.

He's getting a rockstar lifestyle and plenty of moola to boot. If it was a prospective Australian opening batsman or captain, or vice-versa for England, you'd be thinking, geez, this guy is all out of sorts.

Unfortunately, it's the WICB's fault.
 
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#11
If he is ruining his career by focussing on lining his pockets then the answer is yes.

Others have said it - other countries don't reward their test cricketers like Australia does. Hence, some players (particularly those whose games are tailor made for the hybrid version of the game) will vote with their feet and focus on setting themselves up for the future.

Does it diminish Gayle's future reputation? Yes, it does, certainly for as long as cricketing purists (like me) maintain a focus on past player's test records in determining their legacy in the game. At 32, he arguably, had many years of test cricket in front of him and in terms of number of tests, volume of runs and so on, he may have ended up in the top echelon of West Indian cricket.

That said, Gayle was arguably an underperformer in the test arena (though 6,000 test runs at 41 isn't exaclty shabby) and he did little to hide the fact he preferred to entertain than to simply occupy the crease. Whereas 30+ years ago only the greats accumulated 6,000 test runs, these days numbers like that area racked up quickly by good, but not necessarily, great batsmen.

Ultimately, he'll be remembered as a good (sometimes very good) and big hitting, batsman.
 

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#12
That said, Gayle was arguably an underperformer in the test arena (though 6,000 test runs at 41 isn't exaclty shabby) and he did little to hide the fact he preferred to entertain than to simply occupy the crease. Whereas 30+ years ago only the greats accumulated 6,000 test runs, these days numbers like that area racked up quickly by good, but not necessarily, great batsmen.

Ultimately, he'll be remembered as a good (sometimes very good) and big hitting, batsman.

You have to be a very good batsmen to score 2 test 300s i would think
 

The Convert

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#13
You have to be a very good batsmen to score 2 test 300s i would think
I am not quite there. I think think the description as good, sometimes very good is about right. A couple of excellent innings, not sure who against, but only averaging 41 in these days of unbelievable bats, roped off small boundaries, and sometimes poor opposition I think limits his legacy.

As far as destroying his career I think he is having a very good second career as a short game specialist. Don't like it but that is his choice and he is much better at it than he was as a test batsman.
 
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#18
I am not sure how many batsman will be able to do the '20/20 circuit'. I would think maintaining your form playing this format would be quite hard.

What happens if he has a couple of poor series in a row? Will teams still pay the big bucks for him?
 
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#19
Gayle brings people through turnstiles and gets bums on seats.

When he stops doing this, then he has finished. I'm thinking he'll go on for another 5 to 6 years playing hit and giggle.
 

thecatattack

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#20
With the way he's going in the first BPL match I've got no arguments for him to only play t20s!
 

DrVanNostrand

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#21
With the way he's going in the first BPL match I've got no arguments for him to only play t20s!
Just belted a 6 while on 95 to win the game. Probably just toying with those bowlers. Although it seems the imports copped the punishment: Styris 27 from one over, and Trego 23 from one over. Playing at Mirpur too, which isn't a tiny ground.
 
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