Gayle calls on Windies skipper to be more assertive

Veteran opener Chris Gayle is calling on West Indies captain Jason Holder to be more assertive with the young players in the squad ahead of the 2019 ICC World Cup in May. In an interview with Cricket Talk, Gayle said while the team is on an upward trajectory, he'd like the skipper to be aggressive as a proactive measure of ensuring the team remains disciplined for the job ahead.

Gayle said the new blood has "a bright future" ahead and while they did "a terrific job" in a 2-2 series draw against the top one day team England, he still saw rough edges that need ironing out. The marauding Jamaican opener, who is set to retire after the tournament, cited players like John Campbell, Oshane Thomas and Shai Hope as those who the future hinges on, while singling out the "talk of the town across all formats" Shimron Hetmyer as a star-in-the-making who still needs some refining on and off the field.

Gayle stressed that with expectations high, the upcoming trilateral series with Ireland and Bangladesh, as well as the Indian Premier League, will be invaluable to getting his team competition-ready. The big-hitter also confessed that the West Indies do have the necessary experience in the right areas despite being labelled underdogs.