Chris Gayle opens up on his chances of playing the IPL next season

When it comes to T20 cricket, there’s barely anyone on the circuit who can entertain the way Chris Gayle does. Since the inception of the shortest version of the game, he’s been a stalwart and mastered the art of batting in T20 cricket. But Gayle currently has the age factor standing as a hindrance to his progress and opportunities are starting to diminish with every passing day.

He played a pivotal role in shaping Royal Challengers Bangalore into a power house and currently, there are clouds over his participation with the team in the next edition of the world’s most lucrative Twenty20 tournament, the IPL. He has played 91 games for the franchise and scored 3,420 runs at an average of nearly 44 and strike rate in excess of 150.

Talking to ESPN Cricinfo, Gayle said that it’s up to the management to decide if they want his services or not. “That will be up to them, to be honest. The auction will be open to any particular team but at the same time, RCB have been fantastic. To be associated with such a franchise, it has been brilliant,” he said.

“You will see Gayle storm in IPL, hopefully”

With Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals coming back to the mix of things, the auction rules might be different and this is the one reason Gayle is sceptical about his future with the franchise. It was being speculated around the fraternity that there were be a full-fledged auction, with every single player going under the hammer.

If this really happens, most of the star combinations in the IPL will get bifurcated, especially Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, as buying these three players in the auction with a limited amount is virtually impossible. Yet, the Jamaican is optimistic that the Indian cricket fans might witness the “Gayle Storm” next season.

“You don’t know what the rules will actually be when that time comes around as well. Hopefully, fingers crossed, you will see Gayle storm in the IPL.” said the southpaw.