Legendary West Indian batter, Chris Gayle, has lashed out at the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to ‘lack of respect’.
The ‘Universe Boss’, regarded as one of the finest openers in T20 cricket, revealed that he was not happy with the way he was treated for the past two years and decided to respond back by not registering for the draft this time around.
“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,” Gayle stated while talking to Daily Mirror.
“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,” Gayle added.
Despite his grievances, Gayle stated that he will be available to play in the tournament next year.
“Next year I’m coming back, they need me,” Gayle remarked.
The 42-year-old has been one of the mainstays of the IPL ever since its inception. Gayle has scored 6 centuries, the most in the competition history, and is also the leading six-hitter in the tournament with 357 maximums to his name.
Gayle played 10 matches in the IPL last season before withdrawing mid-way through the tournament due to bio-bubble fatigue. IPL 2021 was played in two phases due to COVID-19. The first phase was played in India in April 2021 while the second phase was held in UAE between September and October last year.
