IPL 2018 | RCB told me I will be retained, but never called back, reveals Chris Gayle

SportsCafe Desk
no photo

Chris Gayle, who is currently the hottest property in the cash-rich league, revealed that RCB had told him that he will be retained, but they never called him back and decided not to retain him. Gayle further revealed that winning the IPL with KXIP and World Cup with his nation are his two goals.

Chris Gayle, quite expectantly, has been in red-hot form in IPL this season smashing the bowlers all over the park. In the four innings that he has played so far, he has scored 252 runs with one century and two fifties, which has been a testament to the kind of form he is in.

Gayle had previously spent seven seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore, scoring more than 3000 runs for the franchise. And according to a startling revelation made by Gayle during an interview with TOI, RCB had assured Gayle that he would be retained before they took a big u-turn. However, Gayle seemed to have moved on from the incident and stated that his numbers in the T20 format speak for themselves.   

“It was disappointing from that end, because they had called me. They wanted me in the team and I was told that I will be retained. But they never called back after that. So that gave me the impression that they didn’t want me and it’s fine. As I said, I can’t fight with anyone. I think I had a wonderful CPL and BPL – where I scored two centuries for my side Rangpur Riders. The stats don’t lie: 21 centuries, most number of sixes. If that doesn’t put a stamp on brand Chris Gayle, I don’t know what will,” said Chris Gayle to TOI.

After going unsold on the first day, the Caribbean opener was picked by KXIP in the last round of the auction for his base price of 2 crores. Gayle revealed that he was surprised at not getting picked by any of the franchise but also reiterated that he has moved on. The self-proclaimed ‘King’ also stated that he was destined to play for Kings XI Punjab.

“I’ll be honest in admitting that it was very surprising for me to not get picked by any team. I don’t know what went behind closed doors but I also understand that these things happen. It’s just the way it is. But it’s fine. I’ve moved on from it. Like I said, it’s a great opportunity to be playing for King XI Punjab and so far I’ve had a great time. Perhaps it was supposed to happen, you know. King Gayle; destined to be playing for Kings XI Punjab,” said Gayle.

Despite his heroics in IPL over the years, Gayle has yet to lay his hands on the coveted trophy and is eyeing to accomplish that with KXIP this season. Winning the IPL with KXIP and winning the 2019 World Cup with West Indies, who have somehow qualified for the World Cup, would be Gayle’s only two goals at the moment. 

“Just two things: winning the IPL this year and the World Cup for West Indies next year. I believe West Indies have a big chance of winning the World Cup in 2019. I know we struggled in the qualifiers but now that we’ve made it, our next aim is to win it. But right now it’s definitely the IPL,” he added.

laught0
astonishment0
sadness0
heart0
like0
dislike0

Comments

Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions

0 Comments