Bangalore, November 18: West Indies captain Chris Gayle has left his side’s tour of Australia to return to his native Jamaica to be with his mother, who is seriously ill.
Team manager Joel Garner said that the 30 year old’s mother had been taken to the hospital.
“The thoughts of the management and players in the team as well as the WICB are with Chris and his family at this time,” Garner said. “We also want to wish his mother a speedy recovery.”
Gayle will miss the warm-up game against Queensland, which begins on Wednesday, when the Windies side will be led by vice-captain Denesh Ramdin.
While the team will no doubt be hoping for a quick return by the dashing batsman, there is no guarantee that he will make it in time for the first Test match. In his absence, the onus will be heavily on Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul as the rest of the squad is relatively less experienced than these two.
The first Test starts in Brisbane on Thursday, 26 November.
—–Agencies