West Indies legend Chris Gayle has revealed why he is absent from the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League. The ‘Universe Boss’ has carved out a legacy as one of the tournament’s greatest-ever players and has scored more centuries than anyone else.
The opening batsman has struck the most sixes in the event’s history and recorded the IPL’s highest score of 175 in 2013. But the premier franchise tournament in world cricket is missing the Jamaican’s flair and ferocious power at the wicket and during an exclusive chat with The Mirror, he explained why.
“For the last couple of years, the way the IPL went about, I felt like I wasn’t treated properly,” Gayle shared. “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.”
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!” the triple test centurion chuckled. “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.”
Gayle was in London this week to promote the new Cricket All Rounders App, for which he is an ambassador. With cricket participation numbers falling, the app’s goal is to promote participation in cricket and enhance the health and wellbeing of young people through the sport. Cricket AllRounder was founded to improve the accessibility of the sport and to help remove the increasing barriers children are facing when entering the sport making it affordable, easy to use and not reliant on expensive equipment. The new venture aims to break down the current barriers to playing the game which have been heavily discussed among current players and former cricketers.
Gayle is keen to give back to cricket and disclosed the process behind his involvement in the new innovation. “The app was explained to me and what it is all about and I was very interested, so I decided to come on board and join the Cricket All Rounder app, it’s fantastic,” the Jamaican said. “I thought at the time I thought it was a great initiative and to be associated with it now, it’s fantastic, I’m loving it and I think the kids will love it as well.”
It will feature coaching tips from professionals and a series of technical challenges in batting, bowling, fielding and wicketkeeping. It is aimed at children aged 8-15 years old with various ability levels available on the app. The technology also enables children to compete with others across the world and continually record their scores to monitor progression and content can also be shared across the app with the function to post videos responding to challenges set by cricket legends, such Gayle.
"We want to spread awareness within the communities all over the world, it’s not just for the rich, it’s for everyone. I’m excited to be a part of it,” he continued. “I always want to give back to the sport, it has done a lot for me and I’m thankful and I’m grateful for that. “It’s my time to spread awareness within the sport and Cricket All Rounders is one of the ways to do that.”
Last year Gayle seemingly weaved goodbye to international cricket following the end of West Indies 2021 T20 world cup campaign. Skipper Kieron Pollard also called time on his West Indies career last month, and he was replaced by Nicolas Pooran as the white-ball captain earlier this week, news which was welcomed by the Windies’ leading ODI run scorer. “That’s good, Nicolas Pooran, he was always one of the future captains,” Gayle said. "He’s young, he’s gaining a lot more experience which is very good, I wish him all the very best. He’ll get the backing from his players to perform and to lead, so we look forward to the World Cup coming up as well, and he’ll have my support.”
As the two-time world cup champions move into a new era, Gayle stressed the need for consistency in order for his national side to become one of the world’s best once again. "We are trying our best to be more competitive, we have been trying this for years now," the cricket star added. We need to be more consistent, we need a very good run, one or two years of good, solid and consistent cricket.”
Gayle has scaled the heights of the game that many players can only dream of, and as he enjoys the twilight of his career, he stated how he wants to be remembered when he decides to hang up his bat for good. In typical fashion, he said: “The most determined cricketer of all time and the most strongest to do it, on and off the field. That’s why it’s my universe.” The game will certainly miss him when he's gone.
