West Indies’ destructive opener Chris Gayle on Tuesday said while he wished a great farewell for legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar, his side will be out there to “spoil the fun and parade” when they take on India in the Two-Test series next month.
“Sachin’s a legend and we wish him a great farewell and we want him to walk away happily, but not victorious,” said Gayle. “That Test in Mumbai (Sachin’s 200th Test) will be fantastic. The atmosphere will be great as they always have been a lively crowd. Indian crowd always come out to support cricket and with Sachin, it’s going to be even bigger. The West Indies will put on a good show but we’re eyeing the series so we may be spoiling the fun and parade,” Gayle told ‘Cricinfo’.
Gayle noted that the series against India will finally settle the question on where the West Indies stand in Tests. West Indies are currently ranked sixth among Test-playing nations and Gayle said his team would be more than keen to move up the ICC rankings. “The big occasion for West Indies is a chance to gain points to move to No. 5 on the ICC rankings.
“That’s our mission. I personally have never made a hundred versus India, so I will be looking to rectify that, given my IPl experience also. But you can’t discount their talent in players like Sachin, MS Dhoni and so many more. A few of us are familiar with venues like Kolkata and Mumbai and these conditions and pitches usually stay the same,”he said.