‘CPL in USA can’t just be a one-off’ – Gayle

Jamaica Tallawahs captain Chris Gayle has thrown his support behind making a USA leg an annual part of the Caribbean Premier League’s schedule, and has said he hopes the league will come back next year for the good of cricket in the US.

Speaking at the Tallawahs training session on Monday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida, Gayle said that in order for the effort to get into the US market to succeed, it had to be on a consistent basis rather than the one-and-done events of the past. Gayle has toured the USA with West Indies teams to New York in 2006 and Florida in 2012, and believes the fan base is present to support cricket but that the lack of regular events has stifled momentum.

“I think the US is cricket-orientated,” Gayle said. “When you look at the mixed culture here over in the US, I think you have a huge cricket base and cricket fans over here as well. I think the cricket from a West Indies point of view has been trying to break into the US market for years now. We haven’t been successful so it’s just always a bit of here and there.

“Hopefully the CPL will actually be consistent with having games here in the US. If it’s just a one-off thing, then it’ll be a problem for the game of cricket in the United States as well. If it can actually progress, I know this leg will be a good one for CPL and if it can continue next year and keep letting the people here in the US get a chance to see it live, then it should be a fantastic thing for the game of cricket here in the US as well.”

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