Chris Gayle’s final World Cup appearance wasn’t all too bad, though he managed only seven runs with the bat.

Gayle bowled six overs, conceded only 28 runs and took the wicket of the set Ikram Alikhil as the West Indies ended their Cup campaign with a 23-run win over Afghanistan in Leeds on Thursday.

Besides the victory, what pleased Gayle were the contributions of his successors with the bat, which also gave him an assurance that the future of Windies cricket is bright.

“The future looks bright, with (Shimron) Hetmyer, (Shai) Hope, (Nicholas) Pooran… Those guys will carry the flag and make sure West Indies cricket is back to where it belongs.

“They have a young captain in Jason Holder as well. They have to rally around.

“We also have Andre Russell who is around. I like Pooran and Hetmyer, as those guys can be devastating as batsmen. They need to get a bit more mature quickly. We know what they’re all capable of,” Gayle said during a post-match interaction with the broadcasters.

Speaking of his own future, Gayle said he would be playing the T20Is and ODIs against India and two other T20 leagues. But Thursday’s game was “definitely” his last in a World Cup.

“I will be playing the T20Is and ODIs against India, the CPL (Caribbean Premier League) and the Canadian T20 (meet). That’s that. We’ll see what happens after that…

“It has been a privilege and honour to represent West Indies in five World Cups… Disappointed to end without making it to the final four… A lot has happened behind the scenes to get here and be here, that’s fantastic,” he said.

“As for the World Cup, it’s my last, unless they give me two years of rest and I come back,” Gayle quipped. “I don’t intend to put my body on the risk, I’ve been struggling. This is the last one, definitely.”

Assessing the Windies’ campaign in this edition, Gayle said: “I would’ve loved to lift the trophy, but it didn’t happen. But at the same time, it was fun and I enjoyed it.”