Sports Max – West Indies T20 star Chris Gayle has made himself unavailable for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, which could signal an end to his time at the tournament.
The 42-year-old has played in the world’s premier T20 tournament for the past 13 seasons, where he has played a total of 142 matches since making his debut in 2009. Gayle has represented the Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
After experiencing inconsistent playing time during the last edition, for Punjab, and leaving the tournament early to prepare for the T20 World, questions had been raised regarding the player’s future.
The batsman has been one of the league’s most iconic players and is its seventh-highest runs scorer, having scored 4,965 runs at an average of 39.72 and with a strike rate of 148.96. Gayle tops the list with the most centuries (6) and also holds the record for hitting the highest number of sixes (357). The West Indian has, however, never managed to win a title.
On the back of a disappointing World Cup, Gayle was expected to retire from international cricket but has registered to play for Fortune Barishal in this year’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). The BPL got underway yesterday, but Gayle is not expected to join the squad until later in the season.
