Hailed as arguably the greatest T20 batsman ever, Chris Gayle might be planning for a return to the IPL! Yes, you may see Gayle back in the IPL next year.
Chris Gayle had opted out of the IPL 2022 after being released by Punjab Kings, whom he represented from 2018 to 2021. With the mega-auction last time, Punjab released Gayle and the big Jamaican also didn’t put his name in the ring for the mega-auction.
Gayle last played for West Indies at the T20 World Cup last year in the UAE. And while many assumed that Gayle would retire then, he confirmed that he wasn’t planning to say goodbye yet!
The left-hander was recently seen playing in the 6IXTY Men’s Competition followed by a stint in the inaugural edition of the Legends League Cricket.
Chris Gayle sets eyes on a return to the IPL!
Back in May 2022, when the IPL 2022 was going on, Gayle had declared that he will return to the tournament next year. The 43-year-old has represented three IPL franchises so far in the IPL – Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings. Surprisingly, the ‘Universe Boss’ hasn’t won a single IPL title in his career.
Speaking to the mirror.co.uk, Chris Gayle had expressed the desire to return to the tournament next year and help either Punjab or RCB win their maiden IPL title!
“Next year I’m coming back, they need me!” Gayle told mirror.co.uk back in May.
“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. 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.
He also revealed that he didn’t feel respected and therefore pulled out of the IPL 2022.
“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. There is always going to be life after cricket so I’m just trying to adapt to normality,” the left-hander said.
In 142 IPL matches, Chris Gayle scored 4965 runs at an average of 39 and strike rate of 148. He notched up 6 hundreds and 31 fifties in the IPL.
