Known as the Universe Boss, Chris Gayle seems like a retired cricketer already. He is 43 and out of shape. Often, he can be seen struggling to steal a quick single as was evident in the recently concluded 2021 T20 World Cup. And it surely would be a surprise for sure if he turns up for Windies in the upcoming T20 world event in Australia. Nonetheless, the senior citizen doesn’t think so as he gears up to play 6ixty-a new franchise 60-ball cricket tournament in the Caribbean Islands starting Wednesday.
And the explosive left hander did all the talking even before the first ball was bowled!
“You know what? My bowling is natural. Definitely, I have to bowl. I’m the greatest off-spinner of all time. Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) won’t contest that for sure. I have the best economy, not even Sunil Narine can come close to that,” Gayle, who has 83 wickets in T20s, told ESPNCricinfo.
The tournament will see six men’s franchise and three female franchise which will compete for the trophy. As the name suggests, each team will have ten overs at their disposal. Gayle added that he feels ‘like a kid again’ and he would need a little preperation to go big in the middle.
“I’m really excited to be back in the field. I missed it. I’m like a kid again, looking forward to the first game… For my debut. I’ll have to get back in shape. I’m still in shape but just a li’ll prep here and there to get in that mindset of playing cricket.”
Gayle’s last international match came in UAE almost a year ago. As far as his IPL career is concerned, he played his last match in 2020 for Punjab Kings. Since Gayle made his IPL debut in 2009, the shortest format has moved forward with the bowlers evolving at a rapid pace.
“Bowlers nowadays are creative. They’ve got a lot of variations and they make it challenging for the batters. Of course, the batting part is more dominant in shorter forms but the bowlers have a lot of skills to make it uncomfortable for the batter. It’s gonna be interesting from the batters’ point of view. Saint Kitts is a small ground, I’m expecting good pitches. It’s gonna be exciting, there’s gonna be a lot of chaos. It’ll be up to us how we make it even more interesting for the fans out there,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)