Former West Indies cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan said he was shocked by the allegations made against him by Chris Gayle regarding the latter’s non-selection for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League.

On Monday, Gayle had posted a series of videos and called Sarwan a “snake”, “vindictive” and “worse than coronavirus” for his ouster from the Tallawahs team.

“Let me make it abundantly clear, that 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 in a Facebook post. “Hence, my utter shock by these scandalous allegations.”

In the three-part video on his Youtube channel, Gayle had accused Sarwan of “back-stabbing” him.

“What transpired with the Tallahwahs, you had a big part to play,” said Gayle. “Sarwan, you were the one who gave a big speech on my birthday party about how far we have come. Sarwan, you are a snake. You know, you are not the most loved person in the Caribbean. You are so vindictive, you are still immature, you are back-stabbing.

“In everybody’s eyes, you acted as if you were this saint, this good person.... Sarwan, you’re evil, you’re wicked, you’re poison. You let a thing like this transpire,” he had added.

Sarwan, though, said that he had no involvement in Gayle’s ouster from the Tallawah’s side.

“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 Tournament,” he said.

“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. 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.

“In 2019, I was appointed Head Coach. I reached out to Chris 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. I conveyed Gayle’s view to the CEO, informing the CEO 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.

“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. My deep concern, is that young and upcoming players who regard Gayle as a role model, may think that this is an acceptable way of addressing problems which may befall them in their careers,” added Sarwan.

Gayle, who started his CPL journey with Tallawahs before moving to St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, had returned in 2019 as a marquee player for his second stint with the team and had signed a three year contract.

The 40-year-old opener insisted that he had signed a three-year contract as he wanted to finish his career in Jamaica uniform but Tallawahs’ move to not retain him has now changed things for him.

Gayle insisted that Sarwan wanted to be the head coach of the team and he had explained to the former teammate why it was not a good idea.

“I told Sarwan directly that ‘Sarwan, you have no experience being a head coach. It is not an easy job,” said Gayle.

“The amount of lies this guy told on the players. Sarwan wanted to put curfew on the players when the games were 8 ‘o’clock at night…he wanted to know why there were so many Jamaicans on the team. You take it upon yourself and say too many Jamaicans on the team.”

The 40-year-old said the other reason for his ouster could be his visit to a community meeting arranged by Guyana’s Minister of State Joseph Harmon.

“This is all coming from one visit to Guyana. Apparently, Guyana had their election and the minister invited me to his community and the other side, which the owner is a part of as well, got offended and they all take it personal,” he added.