Chris Gayle has stood by his controversial comments about Test cricket as he talked to Sky Sports News.
Windies skipper standing by Test cricket comments
Chris Gayle has stood by his controversial comments about Test cricket, telling
Sky Sports News he does not know how long he will stay in the longest form of the game for.
West Indies skipper Gayle has already said he would not be concerned if Test cricket fizzled out in the face of competition from Twenty20.
Gayle voiced his continued love of the explosive Twenty20 format which suits his big-hitting batting style perfectly.
Gayle stood by his views on Test cricket, with the longer format definitely not as much to his liking as Twenty20.
"That's my personal view pertaining to me and my relationship with Test cricket," Gayle told
Sky Sports News.
Future
"I don't know how long my future will last with Test cricket, taking into consideration a lot of cricket I've been playing and this Twenty20 game which has come on board and has just been brilliant.
"Test cricket will always be here but it's all about me and my own future and that is how it was meant to come across."
Ahead of the second Test at the Riverside, Gayle pointed to the popularity of Twenty20 with the fans as being behind his comments.
"It (Test cricket) won't be in that much danger but like I said you won't get a full crowd here tomorrow to watch Test cricket, but definitely for a Twenty20 you'll get a jam-packed stadium so it's a different scenario," Gayle added.
"Twenty20 is a huge thing so we'll just have to wait and see what happens, but its not up to me to say whether Test cricket will deteriorate or not."
Strauss spat
Gayle also defended his comments directed at opposite number Andrew Strauss, who had questioned the Windies skipper for only arriving in England two days before the first Test.
"You say what you have to say," Gayle said. "Basically I said it how it is.
"You should be focusing on these couple of Test matches and trying to organise the team. I am not going to get into details about this any more. We have a very important game coming up tomorrow and I am looking forward to it."
Gayle has also been quoted as saying he will give up the captaincy in the near future, but insisted that is not true and has no immediate plans to step down.
He said: "I might have been misinterpreted a bit. Maybe in the future I'll definitely be looking to step down as captain but it is not likely to happen overnight.
"It was a misunderstanding there. I enjoy the job. It is brilliant and I can't complain at all."
