Picture Credit: IPL
Chris Gayle is one of the giants of T20 cricket. The West Indies batter has played across the globe and left an impact almost everywhere. The world's biggest T20 league, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also not been left untouched by Gayle's greatness. The West Indies giant has featured in almost all seasons of the Indian T20 League and has made numerous records here.
But Gayle is not a part of the 15th edition of IPL as he did not put his name in auctions in the first place. Last year, Gayle was a part of the Punjab Kings camp but did not get enough game time. He had a rough two-three years in the IPL which also raised questions about his future in the league. And as Gayle decided to stay out for IPL 2022, it seemed like the end of the road for one of the greatest of the game.
However, as Gayle has done before, he is ready to defy the odds and make a comeback to IPL next year. In an interview with the English news media site Mirror.co.uk, Gayle opened up on what went wrong and what he thinks about doing now. The 43-year-old said he is ready to play again as he is needed here. He also named the franchise he wants to play for.
“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," said Gayle.
I didn't get the deserved respect: Gayle
Talking about why he opted out of the IPL 2022 Mega Auction, Gayle said that he felt he did not get the respect he deserves in the last few seasons and hence decided to stay put for a season. "For the last couple of years, the way the IPL went about, I felt like I wasn’t treated properly,” Gayle said, as quoted by mirror.co.uk.
“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," he added.