Gayle plans IPL return

KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC):

T20 STAR Chris Gayle has vowed to return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2023 after opting out of the tournament this year because of what he said was a lack of respect.

And the 42-year-old Jamaican hitter, who has played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Punjab Kings since starting his IPL innings in 2009, is hoping to win the title with one of those franchises.

“Next year I’m coming back,” he said in an interview with the UK Mirror.

“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.”

This is the first time Gayle has skipped the event since beginning his IPL career 13 years ago.

“For the last couple of years, the way the IPL went about, I felt like I wasn’t treated properly,” he told the Mirror in explaining his absence from the 2022 season.

“So I thought ‘okay, you 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.”

The left-handed batsman has played a total of 142 matches in the IPL, amassing 4,965 runs that included six centuries and 31 half-centuries, and has taken 18 wickets with his right-arm orthodox.

Gayle has struck the most sixes in IPL history (357) and he recorded the franchise tournament’s highest score of 175 in 2013.