Sunil Gavaskar and Matthew Hayden both made a unanimous decision and picked the ICC T20I player of the decade. The two former cricketers had no hesitation in naming Chris Gayle as the T20I player of the last 10 years. The International Cricket Council (ICC) will reward the best players of the last decade on 18th December.
Chris Gayle is nominated for the ICC T20I player of the decade along with Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch, Rohit Sharma, Lasith Malinga and Rashid Khan. Hayden separated Gayle as the best in T20 cricket and was all praises for the ‘Universe Boss’ for the way he has performed in T20 cricket all around the globe.
Sunil Gavaskar And Matthew Hayden Pick Chris Gayle As The Best T20I Player
“For me, Chris Gayle is someone who has been such a force within the shorter version of the game”, Matthew Hayden told Star Sports.
”Let’s not forget the fact that he has also got a Test three-hundred as well but he has been that player in my head who has gone through all the T20 tournaments and he has been that sort of seasoned veteran of the game”, he added.
Meanwhile, Gavaskar pointed out that Gayle played an instrumental role in helping the West Indies win the T20 world cup in 2012 and 2016. The destructive Gayle has always scored heavily for his side and single-handedly won numerous matches in the shortest format. Gavaskar firmly believes that ICC should announce Gayle as the winner of the T20I player of the decade.
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“As Matthew said earlier on, it is also a question of who has actually helped his country to win the World Cup. And the West Indies have won two back-to-back T20 World Cups”.
”Therefore, clearly Chris Gayle who has been a big part of those two wins, as far as I am concerned he is the leading contender because he has changed the game”, Gavaskar added.
”When teams reach 175, this man has got that as his highest score in T20 cricket. Therefore, as far as I am concerned the ICC T20I Cricketer of the Decade is hands down the Universe Boss”, Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
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