Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle. Photo by: Ron Gaunt / IPL/ SPORTZPICS

Chris Gayle’s Indian Premier League (IPL) career would have ended way back in 2011 had Royal Challengers Bangalore not called him in to replace Dirk Nannes.

The left-handed batsman Gayle then became a mainstay of this side for seven years and played for them till 2017.

Chris Gayle, Dale Steyn
Chris Gayle has starred for Kings XI Punjab in four games. (Credits: IPL/BCCI)

The southpaw in the form of Gayle had a dry season last year but still, the team had decided to avail his services.

However, in the end, RCB didn’t do it neither they bid for him during the two-day mega-auction of IPL in Bengaluru.

“It was disappointing from that end, because they had called me. They wanted me in the team and I was told that I will be retained. But they never called back after that. So that gave me the impression that they didn’t want me and it’s fine,” Gayle told TOI.

It was a big surprise to see Gayle getting no bid in the first two rounds of the day.

He only got a bid in the final minutes of IPL auction on the second day when Kings XI Punjab decided to shell out INR  2 Crore on him.

The gamble to purchase Gayle worked in team’s favour and he went on to score 262 runs in just four innings for his franchise.

The Jamaican had already performed more than what was expected of him and if Gayle is able to play 2-3 more match-winning knocks, it would be an added bonus for Kings XI Punjab.

The 38-year-old batsman, Gayle though, had to wait for his chance.

It was Mayank Agarwal, who opened with KL Rahul in first two games before captain Ravichandran Ashwin decided to play Gayle against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

IPL 2018: RCB Told Me That They Would Retain Me - Chris Gayle
Gayle was the first centurion of IPL 2018. (Credits: BCCI/IPL)

The aggressive batter played a splendid knock of 63 off 33 deliveries in a winning cause and followed up with a century against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

Both the openers of Kings XI- Gayle and KL Rahul, have been hitting the ball right from the first ball; for what exactly team management spent big bucks on Rahul and punted on Chris Gayle.

Presently, Kings XI is the third-placed team in the IPL 2018 points table.

The Ashwin led side will now face Mumbai Indians (MI) in their next contest on May 4.

Also, Read: Frustrating When You Create Chances And They Don’t Go To Hand – Brendon McCullum