Curtly Ambrose is an achiever who has earned his stripes to have an opinion of his own which someone like Chris Gayle must learn to “respect” even if it’s not in his favour, said Vivian Richards.

Ambrose had told a radio channel in the Caribbean that Gayle shouldn’t be “an automatic choice” in the West Indies playing XI for the T20 World Cup. To this, Gayle lashed out at Ambrose, saying the former fast bowler was a “negative person” for whom he had “no respect”.

But Richards has defended Ambrose, his former teammate.

“It’s Curtly’s honest opinion and he’s entitled to that and he is just as much an achiever as Chris Gayle at the highest level,” Richards told Daily Observer.

“If I were Chris, the best positive way I would look at it would be to set my mind on what I would like to accomplish because it is just not Curtly, there are so many folks who would have had their criticisms about Gayle,” added Richards.