ICC World Twenty20: Chris Gayle not under pressure, says Darren Sammy

New Delhi: Ahead of their opening clash of the ICC World Twenty20 against England, West Indies skipper Darren Sammy said that swashbuckling opener Chris Gayle is not at all under any pressure despite being out of sorts with the bat.

“It is up to us to set up the innings very well and we have the most destructive batsman in the world Chris (Gayle). There is never too much pressure on Chris. We know that Chris is a massive figure. But when you look at the dressing room we have Bravo, Russell, Carlos (Brathwaite), that’s a lot of power," Sammy was quoted as saying by IANS.

While talking about dynamic all-rounder Andre Russell, who has been under scanner since he missed three doping tests in the last 12 months, the skipper said that the team is behind Russell and is hopeful about his availability.

“I am very much confident Russell will get to play the entire competition. We have always had setbacks and we thrived on all things and took that as motivation and went out and have performed well.

“The way we play, when we played, no other team could match it. We as a team have supported Russell and we are confident he will take part in the whole tournament and make an impact like he has done in the past,” added the skipper.

However, Sammy feels that the West Indian unit will definitely going to miss the trio of Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons.

“It is always difficult to replace someone like Narine, Pollard who had so much experience here. Simmons played here for Mumbai Indians in last two or three seasons, always difficult to replace quality players and their experience," the 32-year-old said.

(With agency inputs)