'Players should demand more money from Ind-Pak ODI World Cup': Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle feels the big three India England and Australia playing the bulk of Test cricket will eventually kill the game and the players of smaller boards like the West Indies must be paid better for international cricket to flourish Gayle is best known for his exploits in T20 cricket but he is also a veteran of 103 Tests and 301 ODIsSpeaking to PTI the 43yearold said only three teams dominating the game cant be good for the game in the long runOver the years cricket has changed quite a bit It is a big business now Lot of money being thrown around not just in T20 leagues but Test cricket as well The bigger teams getting paid more than the smaller teams leaving them at a disadvantage It needs to be structured so that everyone can benefit Infrastructure needs to be created for them and those players need to be paid well just like the big teams because everyone is playing the same amount of cricket he said on the sidelines of Indian Veteran Premier League launchThe Jamaican dashers statement needs to be put into perspective as save the Big Three the lowerranked teams in the ICC rankings dont play three formats regularly through the yearGayle cant predict what the future holds for ODIs as well but has linked up West Indies struggling run in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers to lack of incentives for the smaller teams to play international cricketAbsolutely We need to incentivise The women will also fight for their rights as well payment wise I am sure they want to be up there as much as men from a pay point of view I know there are leagues around the world but sometimes territories restrict those players to play in those leagues and they wont be able to get the funding they deserve the former opener referred to the cap on number of private leagues that a freelancer can ply his trade in If the boards dont allow them to play those tournaments then pay them properly so that you can make international cricket better rather than have two or three teams pretty much dominating Test and ODI cricket It doesnt make sense at all It would kill the game said the JamaicanGayle reckoned the extended domination of India England and Australia would make the game boring as wellYeah that is what I am talking about that is where I am coming from Pretty much these three teams are dominating international cricket If we continue like this people are going to say hey we need a new team now taking over new talents taking over and make a name for themselvesTwo time world champions West Indies are on the brink of elimination from the ODI World Cup qualifiers in Harare and that has saddened Gayle It is upsetting I have been a part of Qualifiers before Sad to be in such a situation Things have not gone our way going into the Super Six It is going to be tough I will be very very disappointed not seeing the West Indies in the World Cup here in India Gayle a twotime winner of the T20 World CupAlso Read Pat Cummins excited to take on India first up in ODI World Cup 2023Meanwhile talking about the upcoming 50over World Cup in India later this year Gayle picked India England Pakistan and New Zealand as the four semifinalists On the much awaited IndoPak clash in Ahmedabad on October 15 Gayle has a rather different takeWhenever those teams play especially in a World Cup the revenues they generate is humongous One game can take care of the entire ICC event Pakistan and India players should demand a lot of money for those games because those games are high paid games TV wise I dont control the board or the ICC If I was in their position I would want a lot more he said laughingHe also sees his longtime RCB teammate Virat Kohli to dominate the World Cup at homeTough times dont last long tough players last longer Virat is tough mentally as well physically I dont see any reason why he shouldnt go to this World Cup and dominate As players we always go through phases where things seem a bit dull and you need positive energy around to uplift yourself Once we get back in the groove we know how dangerous we can be I know India have not won an ICC trophy in a long time and same is the case with us West Indies We last won in 2016 Pressure will be on India as they play at home as favourites Gayle reckonedWith PTI inputs