Gayle's Reappointment an Obscene Act
commentary by DAVID HINDS
As many observers have opined, the West Indies Cricket Board's reappointment of Chris Gayle as captain of the West Indies team is beyond comprehension. It is one of the most obscene acts even by the WICB's standard; they have made the Caribbean nation a bigger laughing stock of the world.
Even Gayle himself must have been surprised by his appointment. This is the latest reflection of the extent to which Caribbean cricket has become a prisoner of the worst form of political expediency. It is my considered opinion that Gayle's appointment can only be a tradeoff -- a concession to the WICB's critics who stood on the side of the dissident players.
What is even more galling is Clyde Butts' revelation that his nomination was unanimous. Was the WICB's directors' vote also unanimous? What was the point of refusing to select the strikers for the latter part of the series against Bangladesh and for the Champions Trophy? If, as theWICB would have us believe, the lack of commitment by Gayle and company was responsible for the impasse, then why reappoint him to lead? Does the WICB think that Gayle is now in their corner? What is their vision of a new way forward and how Gayle fits into that scenario?
Some of the pundits, as they always do, gave cover to the WICB. They created competition for Gayle that they deemed uncompetitive. They narrowed the alternative to Gayle down to Darren Ganga and Dwayne Bravo and then immediately dismissed Ganga from the running ostensibly because of his inability to command a place in the team. But that is pure nonsense. I shake my head in dismay every time I hear people, who ought to know better, talk about who cannot command places in the West Indies team. It is easier to talk about who can command places. Only Chanderpaul and to a lesser extent Sarwan, Bravo and Gayle can walk into any of the current Test team with relative ease. Ganga is not my first choice for captain, but he is far better that Gayle. He is no worse a player than the majority of batsmen in the West Indies -- the standard by which he is disqualified (his average) applies to the overwhelming majority of West Indies batsmen.
Bravo is in the same league as Gayle -- they both represent they new corrupted individualism that has taken hold of the Caribbean youth. Bravo recently made clear his mercenary instincts by pledging his loyalty to the highest bidder. Those who think that he is captaincy material need to help him understand his identity and his responsibility to the society whose history is one that is largely premised on collective resistance to mercenary capital.
The WICB has wasted a golden opportunity to infuse the team with much needed vision and purpose at the level of leadership. Gayle has proven that he has neither the will nor the capacity to do that. We lurch forward to nothingness.
* David Hinds lectures in Caribbean and African Diaspora Studies at Arizona State University in the USA. More of his writings can be found on GuyanaCaribbeanPolitics.com.