Gayle wants Holder to be a stronger captain

WEST INDIES opener Chris Gayle has revealed he wants captain Jason Holder to be more assertive with the young players on the squad as the 2019 ICC World Cup looms in May. Gayle admitted to Cricket Talk that 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.

"I would love for Jason to be a bit stronger. When I say stronger, I mean be a bit harder on these youngsters. Be in their face and let them know who's in charge. You're the man!" he said, referring to the "easygoing" captain and current top-ranked all-rounder in world cricket.

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 in England, he still sees rough edges that need ironing out. The marauding Jamaican opener, who's 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.

"There's a lot of areas he (Hetmyer) needs to buckle up (on) and if you as a captain don't set that standard early, sometime you're going to find yourself in a difficult situation where it's going to keep happening unless you don't put a stop to it as early as possible," continued Gayle, without elaborating on the issue. Gayle also confessed he's cherishing whatever little role he gets to play as leader as well for these youngsters as they're taking up the baton the same way he did when Brian Lara was senior to him.

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. Apart from the aforementioned teammates, the self-proclaimed "#UniverseBoss" and "six-machine" also pointed to TT's Darren Bravo as someone to watch out for. "He [Bravo] has a big part to play as well. This is his time. Those guys can get it right. Once we get the structure right, this West Indies team, we can lift the trophy," concluded Gayle.