Chris Gayle sets sights on third T20 World Cup title

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West Indies veteran Chris Gayle has set his sights on winning a third Twenty20 World Cup when he makes his scheduled return to international cricket against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

The former captain last played international cricket two years ago – in a one-day international against India in 2019 which he described as his last international appearance at the time.

Since then the hard-hitting 41-year-old has featured in a number of T20 leagues across the world, including in the ongoing Pakistan Super League, where he featured twice for Quetta Gladiator before returning to Antigua for the Sri Lanka series.

He was part of the West Indies’ 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup-winning teams, and during an interview with Reuters, Gayle spoke of how focused he is on winning the three-match series against the visitors, but ultimately it only serves as preparation for a tilt at another World Cup title at this year’s event in India in October.

“The bigger picture is actually to get three T20 titles under my belt. That’s actually the goal I’m setting,” Gayle said.

“The World Cup is still a long way off but by the time you blink it’s World Cup time. So we have to try and keep the energy, keep fit, be ready and show the region what we are capable of.

“We have quite a few series coming up and we have a lot of cricket leading up to that. We’ll try and take as much as possible out of these series.”

Should he be included in the squad for the World Cup, he will be 42 years of age by the time it takes place.

Chris Gayle West Indies

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