Trinidad: West Indies skipper Chris Gayle has demanded an apology from former England skipper Kevin Pietersen for calling Shivnarine Chanderpaul a selfish cricketer who refuses to field after getting some runs under his belt.
Gayle said Pietersen had "no right" to make such comments. "I did talk to him and told him, 'You don't need to stoop to that level'. He didn't actually apologise and if he could apologise that would be nice," Gayle told BBC Sport.
Earlier, Pietersen told the Daily Mail that "every time he (Chanderpaul) gets runs he never fields. Thereis always an injury or something. That has really got on my nerves here. It leads to think he plays for himself".
"We're all big men. There's no need to go to that level and try and degrade other players. No-one wants to be degraded in this manner. We're all human beings and everybody is playing this sport to enjoy the game but to take it to that level is very disappointing," Gayle added.
"Whatever issues he had, he should have kept to himself. I've played with Shiv for years and, as a captain, I get tremendous support from him both on and off the field. His batting in both forms of the game has been brilliant and to hear these sorts of comments out in public has been very disappointing," Gayle said in Chanderpaul's defense.
However, Pietersen had praised Gayle earlier.
"I've loved playing against Chris Gayle," he said. "He's funny and relaxed but he's a real competitor. He's a comedian with a heart of gold and this series has been played in a real good spirit," he was quoted as saying.
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