“I Felt Like I Wasn’t Treated Properly For The Last Two Years In IPL”: Chris Gayle On Why He Gave IPL 2022 A Miss

Legendary West Indian batter Chris Gayle revealed the reason behind why he didn’t enter the mega auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) edition, as he felt that in the last two editions of the tournament, he wasn’t treated properly. Notably, the left-handed opener played for Punjab Kings in the previous two editions of the tournament.

The left-handed Jamaican is an Indian Premier League legend, with 4965 runs in 142 matches. He has played for Kolkata Knight Riders at the start of the tournament, and had his most productive years with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, before moving to Punjab Kings.

He has the most centuries in IPL-6, the highest score in IPL and all T20s- 175* and has hit 357 sixes and 405 fours in the Indian Premier League, all records.

In an exclusive chat with the Mirror UK, Chris Gayle revealed why he opted not to play in 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 life after cricket so I’m just trying to adapt to normality,” he said.

Chris Gayle is the leading run-getter in T20 cricket as well with 14562 runs in 463 matches with a total of 22 centuries and 88 half-centuries at an average of 36.22 and strike rate of 144.75. He has hit a total of 1056 sixes and 1132 fours in the format.

Next Year I’m Coming Back, They Need Me!: Chris Gayle Wants The Elusive IPL Trophy In His T20 Cabinet

The West Indian cricketer, who made his debut in 1999, played 103 Tests, 301 ODIs, and 79 T20Is for West Indies scoring 7214, 10480, and 1899 runs respectively. He is one of the four batters with two triple-tons in Test cricket and was the first batter to his a double-hundred in an ODI in World Cup tournaments.

The 42-year-old has not called time on his IPL career, however, as he vowed to return next year and also expressed his desire to win the title, the one major T20 trophy missing from his glittering CV.

“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. 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,” the 42-year-old said.

With the IPL expanding to 10 teams, it is possible that one franchise might take a chance on Chris Gayle despite his age and the fact that he doesn’t play much cricket at the top level in recent times.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Shikhar Dhawan Is Not Talked About As Much As Other Players, He Deserves Praise – Harbhajan Singh