The fans of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were highly disappointed when they realised that Chris Gayle won’t be a part of the side in the eleventh season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). And so was the ‘Universe Boss’, when he was almost assured by the RCB franchise on his retention which never happened. We all know that he cracked the deal with Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the last moment of the players’ auction held in January. But what we didn’t know was the reason behind RCB ignoring the West Indian.
In a recent interview given to the TOI, Gayle revealed what happened ahead of the auctions and why he was left heart-broken later. Speaking on his retention with RCB, he said,
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“I was their biggest draw. It was disappointing from that end because they had called me. They wanted me on 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.”
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The ‘Universe Boss’ went on to speak about how felt when no team picked him up on the first day of the auction. He said,
“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.”
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Even after getting a place in the KXIP camp, he was benched for the first two games. But the moment he got a chance to open the innings alongside KL Rahul, he was as devastating a player as ever. In his first three innings, Gayle scored 3 consecutive 50+ scores, including a century against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
