Chris Gayle is the king of the castle: Kevin Pietersen

35-year old tainted England batsman Kevin Pietersen has a wonderful history with the shortest format of the game. Having been a prominent part of the England setup in his early career, Pietersen has been left in the cold following a plethora of controversies. Pietersen, who is a naturally aggressive batsman was part of the side that lifted the World T20 title in 2010 in the Caribbean.

However, Kevin Pietersen wrote in his column for the Telegraph stating that the Windies are not a one-man team despite the impact that can be made by Chris Gayle. He also went on to share the alleged weaknesses of the batsman.

“Chris Gayle is the king of the castle but West Indies have proved they are not a one-man team,” Pietersen wrote in a column for The Telegraph.

“Pitching it full and straight to Gayle early on is the way to keep him quiet. He has been dismissed by full pitched swinging balls in the last two games and that is a key plan for knocking him over early on.”

Stuart Broad, England’s skipper in the T20 format at one point too seemed to agree with his former teammate. Being a prominent bowler within the England ranks, Broad gave his expert opinion on how to bowl to the West Indies batsman. He mentioned that they pounce on width, therefore advising them to bowl short-pitched deliveries.

“England had success with an early bouncer against Gayle in the past so don’t be surprised to see the bowlers go short early, with the fine leg back, and bowl short at his right ear,” he wrote in The Daily Mail.

“No width, because he’ll uppercut you, so really tight to leg stump.” “You’ve seen some bowlers have success by bowling really full and straight at him. David Willey has been outstanding early on for England and although he’s a left-arm over bowler, he gets great shape on that new white ball, so you could see a slip in and a full swinging delivery.

“No tall man likes a really full ball early and Willey has taken wickets in the opening overs throughout the tournament.”
Kevin Pietersen also went on to add the importance of Jason Roy at the top of the order. Roy single-handedly won the semifinal against New Zealand with some massive hitting on a dead track in Delhi.

“Jason Roy epitomises this England side,” Pietersen wrote. “He is a wonderful player. If he plays the same way tomorrow as he did in the semi-final against New Zealand then he can be a matchwinner again.

“I have already spoken to him and said just that. He is hitting strong cricket shots and when a free-spirited player like him is full of confidence he is very hard to stop.

“I have tried to keep him under my wing for a while because I love the way he plays and how he is a 360-degree player. “It is encouraging to see a youngster like Jason being given the freedom by England to make mistakes. He is enjoying the environment. All the players are loving it and that is being reflected in results.”

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