An angry Chris Gayle has described Jamaica Tallawahs Assistant Coach Ramnaresh Sarwan as a snake and a backstabber in a series of videos in which he explains the reasons behind his move from the Jamaica Tallawahs to the St Lucia Zouks for the 2020 CPL season.
Earlier this month, Sarwan described allegations made by Gayle in a controversial video as "scandalous".
The West Indies batsman described his former colleague Sarwan as "worse than the coronavirus" in an April rant on YouTube.
Gayle also branded him "a snake", "evil", "wicked", "poison", "vindictive", "immature", and "despicable".
The remarks came after Gayle – West Indies' leading run scorer in ODIs and Twenty20s – was released by CPL side Jamaica Tallawahs, for whom Sarwan is assistant coach.
In a statement, Gayle insisted he stands by his comments with regard to the way he claims to have been treated, but does regret any damage to the reputation of Cricket West Indies and the CPL.
CPL organisers had asked the 40-year-old batsman, now with St Lucia Zouks, to address the issue, and were satisfied with what he said. They now consider the matter to be closed.
"In so far as my resentment at the treatment, I stand by my comments in those videos," Gayle said.
"I made these videos with one single intention - to explain to the fans in Jamaica the reasons behind what has now become my second departure from the Tallawahs franchise.
"It was my greatest wish to finish my Caribbean Premier League career in Jamaica - playing in front of my home crowd at Sabina Park with the franchise that I had previously led to two CPL titles.
"Having said that, I must be honest and say that I now realise how portions of my comments may be viewed as being damaging to Cricket West Indies, and to the CPL Tournament and its brand.
"[It is] a tournament which I have sincerely enjoyed not just being a part of, but also helping to build and promote. It was never my intention to damage the T20 tournament.
"Playing in the CPL has guaranteed an opportunity for the past seven years to play in front of the great fans of the Caribbean. This is a privilege which I genuinely appreciate and have never taken for granted."
In his response to Gayle’s initial remarks, Sarwan was left stunned, saying he believes them to have caused "immeasurable damage to the gentleman's game of cricket".
He posted on Facebook: "Let me make it abundantly clear, I have played with Gayle from the inception of my international career and I have always respected him as an extraordinary talent, a colleague, and most importantly, a close friend.
"Hence my utter shock by these scandalous allegations - in that video, he has levelled false allegations and tarnished the reputations of a series of persons.
"I was the focus of most of the onslaughts. I reply, not because I feel that Gayle's rantings are worthy of it, but because I feel that the public's record must be set straight and also, to protect the character and careers of so many people, whose image he has sought to besmirch."
The panels are led by the Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes and Robert Haynes respectively. Sarwan will be stepping down from his current role as Chairman of the Guyana Cricket Board’s Senior Selection Panel to focus on this role and avoid any conflict of interest.
“I am delighted to confirm that Ramnaresh Sarwan has agreed to accept the post of selector on CWI’s Men’s Senior and Youth Panels. He is a student of the game and knows what is required of our young cricketers in order to achieve international success. The Board of Directors are confident that Mr. Sarwan will add enormous value to the cricket system,” said CWI President Ricky Skerritt, reacting to the appointment.
Sarwan, a former West Indies captain who had an international career spanning over a decade, also reacted to his appointment to the panels.
“I want to thank CWI and everyone involved for giving me this opportunity to again serve West Indies cricket, as a member of the selection panels. I’m passionate about the game of cricket and especially West Indies cricket and once asked to contribute, I didn’t hesitate. I look forward to working with my colleagues, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes and Mr Robert Haynes, and the two Head Coaches, as well as everyone else involved in the development of this sport we love and respect so much,” he said.
Sarwan will be a member of the Men’s Senior and Youth Selection Panels until 30 June 2024, a period that includes four ICC Global Events, two T20 World Cups (2022 & 2024), the Cricket World Cup (2023), and the World Test Championship Final (2023).
He played 81 Test matches, 181 One-Day Internationals, and 18 T20 Internationals for the West Indies between 2000 and 2013.
He scored 5842 runs in Tests, including 15 centuries, and 5804 runs in ODIs, including five centuries, and was a member of the West Indies team which won the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy in 2004.
“I absolutely reject Gayle’s allegation that I encouraged foreign players to disrespect him, I really do not understand how he came to such a conclusion and this simply is not true,” Sarwan said, adding that Gayle’s allegations have hurt him and his family.
Sarwan was responding to comments made by Gayle in three videos posted on Youtube on Monday, April 27. In those videos, Gayle alleged Sarwan helped orchestrate his departure from the team.
In a lengthy statement released on Thursday, Sarwan said he wanted to set the record straight.
“I categorically deny any involvement in the decision or the decision-making process, which led to Gayle’s non-selection to represent the Jamaica Tallawahs in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Tournament,” Sarwan said.
“In fact, the management of the franchise itself has issued a public statement that, “the truth is that this decision was made collectively by the Ownership and Management team which did not include Mr. Ramnaresh Sarwan and based purely on business and cricketing reasoning.”
Sarwan said he decided to respond to Gayle’s said he felt compelled to respond.
“In that video, he has levelled false allegations and tarnished the good name and reputation of a series of persons. I was the focus of most of the onslaughts,” the former West Indies middle-order batsman said.
“I reply, not because I feel that Gayle’s rantings are worthy of it, but because I feel that the public’s record must be set straight and also, to protect the character and careers of so many people, whose image he sought to besmirch.”
He said he was shocked by the comments made by Gayle, someone whom he holds in high regard, someone whom he has stood up for on more than one occasion over the span of their respective careers.
One of those occasions occurred in January 2016, in the infamous ‘dont't-blush-baby’ incident involving Australian female sports journalist Mel McLaughlin.
“Let me make it abundantly clear, I have played with Gayle from the inception of my international career and I have always respected him as an extraordinary talent, a colleague and most importantly, a close friend,” Sarwan said.
“Hence, my utter shock by these scandalous allegations. He was welcomed in, and is loved by my immediate family and has hurt them terribly.
“Fans will recall, that when Ian Chappell called for Gayle to be banned from international cricket because of remarks he made to a female journalist, I issued a public call for fans to rally around Gayle. I stood up for him on every such occasion.”
In the videos released on Monday, April 27, Gayle said Sarwan was responsible for having him sent home from Barbados when the two shared a room while playing youth cricket in 1996.
Sarwan said that was a total fabrication by the self-proclaimed Universe Boss.
“Gayle refers to an incident as far back as 24 years ago. He claimed that I caused him to be sent home from Barbados during a tour because he was watching television all night in the room which I shared with him. This is a total fabrication, no competent management would remove him from a series, a player of Chris’s calibre on such a trivial allegation,” Sarwan reasoned.
The beleaguered Guyanese then explained his pathway to the head coaching position of the Jamaica Tallawahs, emphasizing that he deferred the position in 2018 when he was first offered the job.
“I have been officially attached to the Jamaica Tallawahs since 2018. I was first offered to play for the side. I refused because I felt that young and upcoming Jamaican and regional talents as well as overseas players, ought to be given that opportunity,” he explained.
“I was then offered the position of Head Coach but deferred to Mark O’Donnell, who was with the team several years prior.
Instead, I accepted the position of Assistant Coach. In 2019, I was appointed Head Coach.”
He said when he was appointed he reached out to Gayle and discussed with him, the selection of a team.
“I did so out of respect for him. In my conversation with Gayle about the team, he informed me that Donovan Miller, a Jamaican and a very close friend of Chris, should be appointed Head Coach as he would better understand the culture of the Jamaican players,” Sarwan said.
“I conveyed Gayle’s view to the CEO, informing (him) that I would be happy to step aside for Miller’s appointment, given that Chris feels strongly about his appointment.
“My priority was what would be in the best interest of the team. Gayle is fully aware of the background, yet he accuses me of fighting to be Head Coach.”
Sarwan said he stands his decision to impose curfews on the players, something Gayle scoffed at in his videos.
“I accept full responsibility for my recommendation, that the team management considers imposing a curfew on players prior to matches, I stand by that decision,” Sarwan said.
“Such restrictions are standard operational procedures in almost every international sport so that when it is time for performance on the field, the players are physically and mentally prepared for the challenges. In any event, the curfew was never implemented, so I do not understand why Gayle has made this an issue.”
Sarwan said he wished Gayle the best for the coming CPL season when the Universe Boss will suit up for the St. Lucia Zouks.
According to Sarwan, Skerritt has had to make ‘hard decisions’ and he has made them.
Skerritt’s tenure as CWI president has been under scrutiny because of the stunning manner in which he ousted three-term incumbent Dave Cameron in March of 2019. “He has been doing a good job and has had to make hard decisions, and it’s good to see when you have to make harsh decisions, you make them in the right way,” said Sarwan in an interview with Kaieteur News.
According to Sarwan, Skerritt’s tenure so far has not been without its challenges but those were to be expected given the state of the CWI when he took the reins.
“When he came in it was a difficult time, not only the financial challenges they had to deal with but, so far, you got to give him the props where someone deserves props,” he said.
Sarwan, who played 87 Tests, 181 ODIs and 18 T20Is for the West Indies between 2000 and 2013, was one of the former players asked by the Skerritt administration to act as consultant to the West Indies ahead of their tour to Ireland last May.
The batsman averaged 40.01 and 42.67 in Tests and ODI’s respectively, scoring 15 centuries in the longest format of the game and five in the 50-over version.
Sammy, also a former West Indies Captain, was hired as the regional side’s new white-ball head coach in May.
The 39-year-old, who has coached the likes of Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL and the St. Lucia Kings in the CPL, was hired by CWI despite not having a level III (3) coaching certificate. Sarwan, in a social media post on Wednesday, questioned the process that went into hiring Sammy.
“Twenty-two persons were interviewed for the white ball coaching position. However, two were shortlisted. The big question is why were the other twenty persons/coaches not made known to CWI directors, and also, why is this a big secret and being kept away from the cricketing public? In the interest of transparency, those names should have been made available, at least to directors of CWI,” Sarwan wrote.
The 42-year-old then went on to question how Sammy got the job over Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was the other man shortlisted for the job, despite the fact that Chanderpaul is fully qualified and Sammy isn’t. Chanderpaul, 48, most recently coached the USA Women's Under-19 team and coached the Jamaica Tallawahs to CPL glory in 2022.
“The two coaches shortlisted by the President (headed) committee were Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Daren Sammy. Chanderpaul is fully qualified with a level III certificate and Sammy has almost zero coaching qualifications. Shockingly, Daren Sammy confirmed as coach. How is this possible? The President has a professional and moral obligation to the Caribbean people and, without delay, make public the criteria/method used for the selection of the coach,” Sarwan said.
Sammy’s first two assignments will come this month with three ODIs against the UAE before taking part in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
The former Guyanese middle order batsman was appointed a selector for the West Indies Men’s Youth and Selection Panels on January 6, 2022. CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams thanked Sarwan for his contributions during the short time he served in the role.
“Given the depth of his experience in the game, we are disappointed that Ramnaresh is unable to continue in the role of a selector, but we fully understand and accept his reasons,” Adams said.
“We are grateful for his contribution during the period he was involved and hope that he will be able to contribute to West Indies Cricket in some capacity in the future.”
Resulting from the resignation, CWI will initiate a recruitment process as soon as possible through a competitive process, based on established criteria.
The aim, CWI said, will be to complete this process in the shortest possible time so that a suitable candidate can complete the selection panel in carrying out its duties. Robert Haynes, who is the current Lead Selector of the Men’s Youth Selection Panel and former interim Chairman of Selectors, will act as Sarwan’s replacement until a suitable full-time candidate is appointed.
Haynes will work alongside Senior Men’s Team Lead Selector the Most Honorable Dr Desmond Haynes and Head Coach Phil Simmons.
The West Indies Men’s team is currently touring the Netherlands for the first-ever ODI Series between the Netherlands and West Indies as part of the ICC ODI Super League.
At the meeting, which was the second held since the March 29 elections, and chaired by President B Bissoondyal Singh, several sub-committees were established for senior selection, junior selection as well as for cricket development, finance and public relations.
Sarwan will head the senior panel while Andre Percival, the most successful youth captain in the West Indies, will head the junior selection panel. Vice President Hilbert Foster will lead cricket development, Claude Raphael, the Public Relations Committee while Acting Treasurer Dr Cecil Beharry, heads up the Finance Committee.
Also arising from the meeting was the GCB decision to make available several positions on the different committees for the Essequibo Cricket Board.
The entirety of this season’s tournament will take place on the island of Trinidad and Tobago as organisers, like many around the globe, operate with an abundance of caution due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The six CPL franchises and match officials reported to the twin-island republic a week ago where they have been quarantined at the Hilton Hotel in St Ann's. The tournament will get under way on August 18.
Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller confirmed that Sarwan, who was appointed to the post two years ago, was not among that number.
“Mr Sarwan requested leave for personal reasons and that was granted,” Miller said in an interview with the Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.
“It’s a big loss, Sars (Sarwan) brings a lot to the game - his knowledge, his experience and the way he has dealt with the players over the years, so it is a great loss,” he added.
Sarwan will be replaced by former West Indies spinner Ryan Austin. In April, Sarwan was in the news after a public spat with former teammate and then Tallawahs batsman Chris Gayle. In a Youtube rant Gayle blamed Sarwan after he was released by the team. Sarwan denied having anything to do with Gayle’s release.