Chris Gayle is one of the most lethal batsman in the world and the first man ever to score a T20 century. He scored 252 runs in just 7 games at an average of 42 and at an impressive strike rate of 150 for the BBL franchise Sydney Thunder in the 2011-12 season of the Big Bash League.
He smashed 22 sixes that season and scored an astounding century off just 54 balls in an innings consisting of 11 sixes.
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Though he struggled in the 2012-13 season, he bounced back with 204 runs in just 7 games at an average of 29.14 in the 5th season of the BBL.
His twelve ball 50, consisting of 7 sixes and 2 fours against the Adelaide Strikers in the last group stage game of the 2015/16 BBL season equalled Yuvraj Singh’s fastest fifty record in a T20 game, which was considered insurmountable by fans and experts alike.
His achievements in India are no less astonishing. Over three thousand four hundred runs in just 92 Indian Premier League games at an astounding strike rate of 153.36 is no mean feat.
On April 23, 2013, he broke the record for the highest individual score in a T20 game after smashing 175 against a hapless Pune Warriors team. Several other records were broken during this match which are listed below:
#1 Fastest hundred in T20’s - 30 Balls
#2 Highest team score in T20’s - 263 for 5
#3 Most Sixes hit in an innings - 17 by Gayle, 21 by RCB.
He is the only batsman in IPL history to have scored 5 centuries. Meanwhile, his performances with the ball have been quite effective and economical. 16 wickets in 82 matches at an economy rate of 8.11 is an indication that he is no mug with the ball in his hand.
The Jamaica-born batsman has enjoyed a strained relationship with the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) which allowed him an opportunity to be a part of several T20 leagues around the world.
Nicknamed "World Boss", Chris Gayle is an entertainer on and off the field. However, some of his actions have earned him the wrath of the orthodox cricketing jury in the past. In the 2015/16 Big Bash League, his comments on sports presenter Mel Mclaughlin were condemned by Anthony Everard, the head of BBL and Cricket Australia with the franchise affirming their wish to not re-sign the swashbuckling opener.
Chris Gayle declared his wish to opt out of the competition in the upcoming season opting to spend time with his family instead.
Let us take a look at the 5 main reasons why the league will miss him:
#1 Large Scale Entertainment:
Chris Gayle is one of the biggest entertainers in world cricket. His-no-holds-barred attitude leaves the bowlers in tears as their economy rates go for a toss.
Even rival team fans cannot help but appreciate the athleticism of the tall left-hander. His long hair and strength further add to his charisma, drawing comparisons to Samson, the famous Jewish legend. Stadiums fill up and audiences around the world switch on their television sets whenever Chris Gayle walks out to bat.
His performance in the T20 leagues across the globe has been sensational, which makes signing him up a no-brainer. His fitness even at the age of 35 when cricketers look to retire and enjoy a quiet life off the field earned him praise from RCB captain Virat Kohli who himself is one of the fittest cricketers out there.
The league and mainly the Aussie cricketing fans will miss out on large-scale cricketing entertainment which the tall burly Jamaican ensures with his presence.
#2 Global Audience:
Though the league consists of T20 superstars like Aaron Finch, Carlos Braithwaite, André Russell, Glenn Maxwell, and Dwayne Bravo, none of them can sell out the stadium like Gayle.
Though mocked as a mercenary for hire, he has been successful in building a loyal set of fans that are willing to adjust their schedules and their sleeping hours to watch him wreak havoc.
Gayle has been a part of every T20 league around the world including the ones in Bangladesh, South Africa, Australia and England. His ability to change the game in a couple of balls along with his ability to entertain makes him an irresistible option for teams around the world.
Fans who consider themselves amongst the most loyal of supporters find it impossible to control themselves when they witness Christopher Henry Gayle smash the ball into the stands.
The league is restricted to its viewer base as a result of his absence.
The attempts to rope in Indian cricketers like M.S Dhoni, Suresh Raina,and Yuvraj Singh, who are major crowd pullers, have been massively unsuccessful so far as a result of BCCI’s disapproval.
Hence, their ambitions of tapping into the large-scale Asian audience around the world have suffered a major blow. With Chris Gayle’s absence, the ticketing sales and TV viewership will further deteriorate.
#3 Impact on sponsors:
Chris Gayle is one of the most marketable cricketers out there with a net worth of $30 million. PepsiCo and Royal Challenge are two of his major sponsors. The public loves him and follows his activities religiously.
With 3.2 million followers on Twitter and over 6 million likes on Facebook, his massive social media presence is nothing short of remarkable. When Chris Gayle was accused of being sexist his fans rallied in support of the big Jamaican labelling it as nothing but innocent flirting.
If a cricketer boasting such a fan base decides to give a league a miss, his fans might also decide to do the same which will negatively affect the competition.
The Sponsors will miss his presence and the league will certainly lose out on a lot of interest. This will negatively impact the profits being churned out which will add to the sponsors’ woes.
#4 Value to the Franchise
Chris Gayle’s record in T20 cricket is so majestic that it has earned comparisons to Sachin Tendulkar’s records in ODIs. Gayle is arguably the greatest and the most lethal cricketer out there in the shorter format of the game.
Gayle was signed up as a replacement for Dirk Nannes in IPL-4 which was a risky move considering his failure in the IPL previously with the Kolkata Knight Riders. In his debut game, he smashed 102 off 55 balls in an innings consisting of 10 fours and 7 sixes.
That game marked the beginning of his success in T20 leagues around the world. His batting performances have ensured wins for the Royal Challengers Bangalore even in the toughest of circumstances.
He finished as the second highest run-scorer with 257 runs from 6 matches while representing RCB in the 2011 Champions League T20. He has turned out to be an asset for every T20 franchise he has represented in every country around the world.
His absence means that the BBL franchises are missing out on a sure-shot match-winner who can be the difference between a victory and a defeat.
#5 Exciting High Scoring Games
Fans love watching high scoring games. Nowadays no fan is patient enough to sit and bear a game which is extremely low scoring and snail-paced in nature.
They instead prefer watching the ball sail into the stands. Chris Gayle guarantees exactly that. His presence at the top of the lineup brings excitement and delight in an average cricket fan’s heart. If he walks out to set a target and performs which he does more often than not, the chances of a 200 plus score being posted increase dramatically.
Any score can be chased down if the Jamaican is out there on the pitch. Two out of the top 10 IPL highest team totals ever have been possible majorly because of Chris Gayle’s impact.
The BBL misses out on this as a result of Gayle’s absence. Though players like Bravo and Pollard ensure high scoring games, Chris Gayle’s presence has a different charm altogether.
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