Former Jamaica and West Indies Captain Christopher Gayle is expressing hope that this year’s ICC T20 men’s World Cup tournament, jointly hosted in the Caribbean and the United States, will serve as a catalyst to revive in the region the sport, which he described as “deteriorating”.

Gayle, a two-time T20 World Cup winner, highlighted the significance of the tournament, scheduled from June 1 to 29, with England as the defending champions. The 44-year-old Gayle told the Jamaica Observer that this year’s tournament plays a critical role in rejuvenating cricket, particularly in the Caribbean.

“They have been trying to break cricket in the USA for many years now, but seeing it finally happening now, it is going to be something bigger for us and people from the Caribbean can actually feed off such a thing as well,” said Gayle. “I know that the cricket is kind of deteriorating in the Caribbean for a while, but with this Cricket World Cup, there [is an opportunity] for the upliftment of the cricket, and Jamaica needs that as well.”

“I am not being biased because I am a Jamaican, but our cricket is deteriorating big time and we need this,” Gayle said.

Reflecting on the absence of matches in Jamaica during the tournament, Gayle underscored the broader importance of cricket for the region.

“With the World Cup coming up now, I know there are no games in Jamaica, but at the same time Jamaica needs cricket and the Caribbean needs cricket on a whole as well, so hopefully the World Cup will be a success for the West Indies and our cricket can improve and we can get more players having more passion and looking forward to representing the West Indies,” Gayle said.

West Indies managed only one win in the 2021 T20 World Cup in Oman and the United Arab Emirates, which marked the end of Gayle’s distinguished international career, as they failed to qualify for the main draw at the 2022 tournament in Australia.

However, Gayle — the hard-hitting, left-handed batsman that is regarded as one of the greatest T20 players of all time, with over 15,000 runs under his belt — pointed out that he is backing the regional side to win this year’s championships.

“West Indies is number one. We are lifting that trophy on June 29. I don’t know who the West Indies is going to beat in the final but it’s our cup,” Gayle said. “All the best to Darren Sammy [coach], all the best to Rovman Powell [captain], and make us proud. It is going to be exciting because it is in the USA and it is in the Caribbean.”

This will be the first time that the USA will host ICC Cricket World Cup matches with eight games scheduled for the state-of-the-art, 34,000-capacity Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island, New York. Additionally, matches will be held at the newly renovated Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas and Broward County Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Games will also take place in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. West Indies will compete in Group C with New Zealand, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda.