Big 3 who play a large number of test matches will eventually kill the game: Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle, who has yet to retire from cricket, believed that lower-ranked teams should also play more Test matches to improve their skills.

New Delhi: The big three – India, England and Australia – who play most of Test cricket will eventually “kill the game” and the players from smaller boards like the West Indies need to be paid better for international cricket to flourish, believes Chris Gayle.

Gayle is best known for his exploits in T20 cricket, but he is also a veteran of 103 Tests and 301 ODIs. Speaking to PTI, the 43-year-old said that just three teams dominating the game cannot be good for the game in the long run.

“Cricket has changed quite a bit over the years. It’s a big company now. Not only is there a lot of money being thrown around in T20 leagues, but also in Test cricket. The bigger teams get paid more than the smaller teams, putting them at a disadvantage.

“It needs to be structured so that everyone can benefit from it. The underprivileged and lower ranked teams need to play more games to develop their skills. Infrastructure should be created for them and those players should be paid well, just like the big teams, because everyone plays cricket equally,” he said on the sidelines of the launch of the Indian Veteran Premier League.

The Jamaican dasher’s statement should be put into perspective as other than the “Big Three”, the lower-ranked teams in the ICC rankings do not regularly play three formats during the year.

Nor can Gayle predict what the future holds for ODIs, but has linked the West Indies’ struggling run in ongoing World Cup qualifiers to a lack of incentive for the smaller teams to play international cricket.

“Absolutely. We have to (encourage). The women will also fight for their rights, in terms of pay. I’m sure they want to be there as much as men from a pay standpoint. I know there are leagues all over the world , but sometimes territories restrict those players from playing in those leagues and they won’t be able to get the funding they deserve,” the former opener referred to the limit on the number of private leagues a freelancer can trade.

“If (the boards) don’t allow them to play those tournaments, pay them properly so you can make international cricket better instead of two or three teams pretty much dominating Test and ODI cricket. It makes no sense at all. It would kill the game,” said the Jamaican.

Gayle thought the extensive domination of India, England and Australia would also make the game boring. “Yes, that’s what I’m talking about, that’s where I come from. These three teams pretty much dominate international cricket. If we continue like this, people will say ‘hey, we need a new team to take over now, new talents to take over and make a name for themselves’.

Two-time world champions West Indies are on the verge of elimination from the ODI World Cup qualifiers in Harare and Gayle has been saddened by this. I have participated in Qualifiers before. Sad to be in such a situation. Things have not gone our way going into the Super Six. It’s going to be tough. I will be very disappointed if I don’t see the West Indies in the World Cup here in India,” Gayle, a two-time T20 World Cup winner.