Chris Gayle, set to feature in his final World Cup, has been named West Indies vice-captain for the upcoming 50-over tournament. Cricket West Indies named Gayle as Jason Holder’s deputy for the World Cup, while Shai Hope has been appointed vice-captain for the ongoing tri-nation series involving Ireland and Bangladesh.
With 10,151 runs in 289 ODIs, Gayle is by far the most experienced cricketer in West Indies’ World Cup squad. His career-best of 215 came during the 2015 edition of the tournament against Zimbabwe, still the highest ODI score by a West Indies batsman. He last captained West Indies in an ODI in June 2010.
“It is always an honour to represent the West Indies in any format and this World Cup for me is special,” Gayle said after the announcement. “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.”
On his appointment as deputy for the tri-nation series, Hope said that the decision was taken after he was asked by the management to take the role.
“It’s a tremendous honour to be appointed vice-captain for this series here in Ireland,” Hope said. “Ahead of this tournament I was asked to take on this role and I was happy to accept. Anything I’m asked to do for West Indies cricket I’m always happy and willing to put my hand up, so this is great.”
The tri-nation series is set to end on May 17 in Malahide before West Indies make their way to England for the World Cup that begins a fortnight later. Their World Cup campaign begins with a trip to Trentbridge to face Pakistan on May 31.