Chris Gayle at a city hotel on Thursday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Chris Gayle’s groin injury will be assessed after a week and the West Indies captain is keeping fingers crossed.

The star-studded Indian Premier League (IPL) has, after all, given Gayle the opportunity to open with one of his favourites — Sourav Ganguly, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain.

Clearly, Gayle doesn’t want to let go of this chance.

“Early on, before I began playing for the West Indies (1999-2000), I would be an avid watcher of limited-overs cricket on the TV and Sourav’s the one opener I really admired… That he too is a left-hander probably made me a bigger fan of his…

“A wonderful timer, Sourav was then very flamboyant and very aggressive… Now, of course, he’s changed his game a little… Is a lot more experienced,” Gayle told The Telegraph.

Speaking on Thursday evening, he added: “I’m hoping that I’ll get to open with Sourav at least once in the IPL… That’s something I’m really looking forward to… I’d like to have the best view when he’s on strike… The IPL is also about limited-overs (Twenty20) cricket, isn’t it?”

Gayle believes Sourav still has something to offer in ODIs, but the reality is that the selectors were quick to overlook him for the February-March tri-series in Australia.

The West Indies captain, who got injured in the last ODI against Sri Lanka (St Lucia, April 15), will be assessed by Knight Riders’ physio Andrew Leipus.

“I’m better, but the physio has to decide when I can play… Complete recovery takes time,” he pointed out.

A Stephen Fleming admirer where captaincy is concerned, Gayle denied having said that the IPL would get precedence over playing for the West Indies.

“They’ve damaged my name… It’s so easy for some people to say what they want and make a player look bad… Hurt his reputation… For me, the West Indies will always come first. Absolutely no question about it,” he asserted.

Like many others, however, Gayle felt that the IPL should have a fixed slot in the International Cricket Council’s calendar, thereby eliminating even the chance of a country versus IPL debate.

Footnote: While many instantly recall the 28-year-old Gayle’s record-creating 117 in the inaugural match of the first World Twenty20 Championship last September, he’s also credited with a triple hundred (317) in Test cricket. The triple and that historic 117 have both been at the expense of South Africa.