Chris Gayle’s return to the Indian Premier League after being snubbed from the 2011 IPL auction has been firmly established one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the league and a masterstroke signing by Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
All had seemed lost for Gayle that season – ignored in the IPL 2011 auctions in January, an injury at the subsequent ODI World Cup in India and being dropped from the West Indies side for a home series against Pakistan. However, the Caribbean powerhouse was in for a surprise, bang in the middle of a nightclub party in his hometown in Jamaica, when the twist of fate came calling.
Struggling with an injury to pacer Dirk Nannes, RCB opted for a left-field alternative in Gayle, with former boss Vijay Mallya and team mentor Anil Kumble approaching the Caribbean legend.
When Vijay Mallya and Anil Kumble approached Gayle in 2011
“When I got a call, I was at a nightclub in Jamaica. Whatever happened with the breakdown with West Indies Cricket, where I was not even selected for a home series against Pakistan. Coming from a World Cup loss and then had an injury too. I was very disappointed. So, long story short, I was at a nightclub and that time, I wasn’t playing any cricket,” Gayle recounted in a podcast episode with Shubhankar Mishra.
“I got a call. It was Vijay Mallya and Anil Kumble. They asked me if I was fit. I was like, ‘Is this for real?’ I said, “Yes, I am fit”. They said, ‘If you’re fit, what we need you to do is go to the embassy tomorrow and get the visa.’ But I said tomorrow is Saturday. They said, ‘Don’t worry about that. Just turn up.’ I turned up next day, got my visa and then took my flight and you know, Easter started from that time,” added Gayle.
Gayle’s blockbuster 2011 IPL and beyond
Unveiling the Gayle signing on April 20, 2011, the dangerous southpaw turned out to be an instant for RCB. In only 12 innings, Gayle plundered 608 runs as RCB finished runners-up that season, smashing two hundreds and three fifties with 44 sixes. Gayle went onto become one of the most prolific batters of the league, finishing with a whopping 4965 runs in only 141 innings, recording six hundreds with the most (357) sixes in the history of the league.
