I have no respect for Ambrose, says Gayle

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle said he has no respect left for legendary Curtly Ambrose after the former pacer said that the left-handed batsman would not be an automatic choice for him in the West Indies XI for the upcoming T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman.

Gayle, who will be playing his seventh T20 World Cup, has been struggling with the bat this year. In 2021, he has only scored 227 runs in 16 Twenty20 internationals.

“For me, Gayle is definitely not an automatic choice for starting. When you look at his exploits over the last 18 months, he has struggled not only for the West Indies, but other T20 franchises. The few home series we played, he hasn’t had any scores of significance,” Ambrose had said.

In reply, Gayle said that he was finished with Ambrose and had no respect left for the legendary fast bowler.

“I can tell you personally, and you can let him know that Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss, have no respect for Curtly Ambrose whatsoever.

“I am finished with Curtly Ambrose. I have no respect, any time I see him I will tell him as well -- ‘Stop being negative, support the team ahead of the World Cup.’ This team has been selected and we need past players to support us. We need that, we don’t need negative energy. In other teams, their past players support their teams, why can’t our own support us in a big tournament like this?,” the 42-year-old opener said on Tuesday.

Gayle added that he was giving Ambrose the attention he had been asking for. He said, “I am now speaking from my heart. I don’t know what, since he retired, what he had against Chris Gayle. Those negative things he has been saying within the press, I don’t know if he is looking for attention, but he is getting the attention. So I am just giving back the attention which he requires and which he needs.”