Gayle hits out at IPL 'lack of respect'
Cricket
Chris Gayle says he pulled out of this year's Indian Premier League draw due to a lack of 'respect'.
MUMBAI (AFP) - West Indies cricket star Chris Gayle says he pulled out of this year s Indian Premier League draw due to a lack of "respect" in his previous two seasons of the Twenty20 tournament.
The big-hitting self-styled "Universe Boss" has long been a popular fixture of the IPL, hitting the most sixes -- 357 -- of any player in the competition.
He played 10 matches for Punjab Kings in the previous Covid-hit edition before "bubble fatigue" forced him to leave.
"For the last couple of years, the way the IPL went about, I felt like I wasn t treated properly," Gayle was quoted as saying by British daily The Mirror.
"So I thought okay, you (Gayle) didn t get the respect you deserved after you did so much for the sport and IPL.
"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 did not put his name up for this season s auction that had top stars from across the globe, with England s Liam Livingstone the most expensive overseas player for $1.52 million to Punjab Kings.
But the 42-year-old Jamaican, who holds the record for the IPL s highest score of 175 in 2013, wants to return to the money-spinning tournament next season.
"Next year I m coming back, they need me!" he said.
"I ve represented three teams in the IPL, Kolkata, RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) and Punjab. Between RCB and Punjab, I would love to get a title, with one of those two teams."
The left-hand batter and off-spinner has appeared in 103 Tests, 301 one-day and 79 T20 internationals for West Indies and last played a T20 for the national side in November last year.
