Chris Gayle, one of the most destructive T20 batters around, has revealed that the lack of respect from the league and franchise forced him to withdraw his name from the Indian Premier League 2022.
He spent his last four seasons with Punjab Kings, and struggled to find a place in the playing XI for the last two seasons. In 2021, Gayle played 10 matches and managed 193 runs at a below-par strike rate of 125. A year ago, he had to warm the benches for the majority of the season.
Gayle, however, is arguably the greatest player to have played in IPL. In his heydays, the Caribbean star used to be the most fearsome striker of the ball, more than capable of turning the game around on his own.
In an interview with the Mirror, Gayle said: “For the last couple of years, the way the IPL went about, I felt like I wasn’t treated properly.So I thought ‘okay, you (Gayle) didn’t get the respect you deserved after you did so much for the sport and IPL’. So I said ‘okay, that’s it, I’m not going to bother to enter the draft’, so I left it as it is.”
The ‘Universe Boss’ also gave a major update about his IPL future. Having represented three franchises in his career, Gayle said he would like to win the trophy with either Royal Challengers Bangalore or Punjab Kings. It must be noted that his best days in this league came when he was with Bangalore.
“Next year I’m coming back, they need me! I’ve represented three teams in the IPL, Kolkata, RCB, and Punjab. Between RCB and Punjab, I would love to get a title, with one of those two teams,” said Chris Gayle.
“I had a great stint with RCB where I was more successful within the IPL, and Punjab, they’ve been good. I love to explore and I love challenges so let’s see what happens,” he added.
