Bridgetown, Barbados

West Indies opening batsman Chris Gayle is looking forward to the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

The experienced left-hander, who has appeared in 88 Tests, making 6,007 runs and 220 one-day internationals, hitting 7,885 runs, said he gained a lot from the recent camp in Barbados and is fully prepared for the challenge of facing the Sri Lankan attack in the coming weeks.

"I'm feeling good ... I'm hitting the ball really well. I hit a lot of balls in the camp and I'm looking forward to the tour. We are looking to have a winning tour. The preparations went really well and you could see everyone putting in the hard work. We know that nothing comes easy and we have to put in the hard work to achieve our goals," Gayle said.

"It will be different conditions to what we are accustomed to. We have a three-day warm-up game to get acclimatised and take it from there. As a team, we have been planning well and we believe we will do very well," Gayle added.

All-rounder Darren Sammy has recently taken over from as captain of the West Indies and Gayle has given the new man at the helm his full support.

"It will be a new role for Sammy. I wish him all the best and we will all be there to rally around him and give him the necessary support. He is the one who will have to take charge and lead from the front and we all know he is capable. We are all there to try and guide and help him."

Gayle was speaking shortly before he and some teammates left for the tour yesterday evening. The second half of the team will leave today. In Sri Lanka, the Windies will play three Tests, five one-day internationals and a T20 International.