Chris Gayle
Christopher Henry Gayle is a Jamaican cricketer who played international cricket for the West Indies from 1999 to 2021. Gayle is widely regarded as the greatest Twenty20 batsman in the history of Cricket. He played a crucial role in the West Indies teams that won the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, 2012 ICC World Twenty20 and 2016 ICC World Twenty20.
He has set numerous records across all three formats of the game. He is the most capped player for the West Indies in international cricket and is the only player to score a triplet of centuries – a triple hundred in Tests, double hundred in ODIs and a hundred in T20Is. Gayle is the only player to score more than 14,000 runs and hit more than 1000 sixes in T20 cricket He is also the leading run scorer for West Indies in both ODIs and T20Is and, after Brian Lara, was the second player to score more than 10,000 runs for West Indies in ODI Cricket. Gayle was the first West Indian batsman to score a double-century in ODI cricket and subsequently in the history of World Cup cricket, where he scored an innings of 215 against Zimbabwe. His innings of 215 is currently the highest individual score by a left-handed batsman in ODI cricket. Along with the ODI record, he has the highest individual score in the T20 World Cup as a West Indian with his 117 runs against South Africa. Moreover, in the ICC Champions Trophy, he has the highest score made by a West Indian with his innings of 133 not out against South Africa in the 2006 tournament. In addition to his batting, He has picked up over 200 International Wickets with his Right-arm off-break spin bowling. He was awarded the Most Valuable Player in the 2011 Indian Premier League and held the Orange Cap in 2012. On 23 April 2013, He broke the record for the fastest ever T20 hundred in his landmark knock of 175 runs from 66 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors India in the IPL, which is also the highest score ever by a batsman in T20 history. He also equaled the record for the fastest 50 in T20 cricket while playing for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.
Playing Tests, Gayle scored over 7,000 runs at an average of over 42 and captained the West Indian Test side from 2007 to 2010. He last played in a Test match in September 2014, against Bangladesh. After initially expressing his desire to retire from ODIs after the 2019 Cricket World Cup, he nonetheless played in the ODI series against India after the World Cup playing his final and 301st ODI match wearing the special jersey number 301 in August 2019, against India. In December 2020, Gayle was included in the ICC T20I Team of the Decade.
In September 2021, he was included in the West Indies squad for 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Early career
Gayle started his cricket career with Lucas Cricket Club in Kingston, Jamaica. Gayle claimed: "If it was not for Lucas, I don't know where I would be today. Maybe on the streets." Lucas Cricket Club's nursery has been named in honour of Gayle.He was made captain of the West Indies side in the ICC T20 World Cup 2009 after getting criticized for playing in the IPL 2008 and missing an international series a few months before. Gayle scored a quickfire 88 in the opening game of the tournament and helped the Windies beat the mighty Australians. They lost in the semi-final to Sri Lanka.
International career
Debut years
Gayle first played at the international level as a youth where he topscored for the Windies at the 1998 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He eventually made his first-class debut in 1998, at age 19 for Jamaica. He played his first One Day International eleven months later in 1999, and his first Test match six months after that. Gayle went on to establish himself as a destructive batsman who's most effective whilst playing square of the wicket. In July 2001, Gayle recorded his maiden Test century by scoring 175 against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. In partnership with Daren Ganga they added 214 to equal the record for opening stands against the host country.Rise in ranks
Gayle had a slow start to his international career, but invigorated it in 2002, ending the year with three centuries against India in November and becoming the third West Indian to score over 1,000 runs in a calendar year, along with Vivian Richards and Brian Lara. He is one of only six players in One Day International history to have three or more scores of 150. In 2005, Gayle was dropped for the first Test against South Africa along with six other players following a dispute over sponsorship issues. He returned for the second Test but had a poor series until the fourth Test, where he made a match-saving 317. It was the first-ever triple century against South Africa and up until Mahela Jayawardene made 374, it was the highest individual Test score against them. In another match of the series, Gayle had to leave the field after complaining of dizziness. During a subsequent series against Australia, Gayle again complained of dizziness and shortness of breath during his innings. He left the field for a time, and was after the match sent to hospital where he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect causing a cardiac dysrhythmia. He underwent heart surgery following the series to correct the defect. Gayle was only the fourth West Indian to carry his bat in a Test innings.File:Chris Gayle, 2010.jpg|thumb|Gayle at the Prime Ministers XI cricket match in Canberra in 2010|leftIn August 2005, Gayle joined Worcestershire for the rest of the English season, playing eight matches. He made two half-centuries in three first-class matches and two half-centuries in five one-day matches, and won one Man of the Match award in the one-day National League. However, Worcestershire were relegated after Gayle made 1 in the final match against Lancashire.Gayle was named Player of the 2006 Champions Trophy, where the West Indies nearly defended the title they won in 2004, being defeated in the final by Australia. Gayle scored three centuries and totalled 474 runs, 150 more than any other batsman, and also took eight wickets in as many matches. Gayle, in keeping with the rest of the West Indies team, had a poor World Cup in 2007. He recorded a series of low scores; the one exception being a blistering 79 off 58 balls against England in the West Indies' final match.
Gayle made the first century in international Twenty20 cricket, scoring 117 against South Africa in the first match of the 2007 World Twenty20. The innings made him the first batsman to score a century in each of international cricket's three formats. This stood alone as the record score in a T20I until 19 February 2012, when South Africa's Richard Levi scored 117n.o. against New Zealand, and was eventually exceeded by Brendon McCullum of New Zealand later that year.
In the semi-final match of the 2009 World Twenty20 against Sri Lanka, he became the first international player to carry his bat through the entire innings in this format of the game as well. In April 2008, Gayle was bought by the franchise Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League player auction, but missed the opening games due to a Sri Lankan tour to the Caribbean. When he finally joined the team, he missed out on the action due to a groin injury he picked up during that tour. Afterwards, he left to join the West Indies team for a home series against Australia, therefore not playing in the inaugural version of the IPL.
He played in the second IPL competition in early 2009, arriving for an away Test series against England very late, earning criticism about his commitment. His Test series went poorly, and the West Indies went on to lose both the Test and ODI series. Gayle, however, went to on score a match winning 88 in the first official match of the 2009 Twenty20, in a surprise victory over Australia.
On 17 December 2009 in the Australia v West Indies 3rd Test Chris Gayle scored the then fifth-fastest century in Test match history, taking just 70 balls to reach 100, including nine fours and six sixes. He was dismissed two balls later for 102 runs. On 16 November 2010, he became the fourth cricketer to score two triple centuries in Test cricket after Donald Bradman, Brian Lara and Virender Sehwag.
On his return to Test cricket in July 2012, he scored 150 on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand.
Gayle scored 75 runs from 41 balls, fuelling West Indies' total of 205, against Australia in the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 semi-final, which was the highest total of the tournament.
In November 2012, during the First Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka, Gayle became the first player in the history of Test cricket to hit a six off the first ball of a match. In 2013, during the Third Test against Zimbabwe, Gayle surpassed Brian Lara's record of the most sixes in Test cricket by a West Indian cricketer.
Late career
In February 2015, Gayle became the fourth cricketer to score a double century in ODIs, and the first ever to do so in World Cup history, when he made 215 during a pool game against Zimbabwe in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Canberra. His partnership with Marlon Samuels was the most productive wicket in Cricket World Cup history, producing 372 runs before Gayle was caught for an out on the final ball of the innings. Coincidentally, he was almost adjudged out on the first ball he faced as an LBW appeal was raised by Zimbabwe bowler, Tinashe Panyangara, however, the umpire turned down the appeal. Despite a review which showed that the ball would have clipped the top of the bails, the original decision was upheld. Gayle thus became the only player in world cricket to hit a triple hundred in Tests, a double hundred in ODIs and a hundred in Twenty20 Internationals.Chris Gayle ended his List-A career for Jamaica with a match-winning century against Barbados in a Super50 Cup 2018. On 18 February 2019, Gayle announced that he would retire from ODIs after the 2019 Cricket World Cup. He reversed this decision in June 2019.
In April 2019, he was named in the West Indies' squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup, which marked his fifth consecutive World Cup appearance. On 31 May 2019, in the West Indies' opening match of the World Cup, Gayle scored his 40th six in World Cup matches, the most by any batsman in World Cup history, surpassing AB de Villiers's record of 37. In the West Indies' match against Australia, Gayle scored his 1,000th run in the Cricket World Cup. On 1 July 2019, in the match against Sri Lanka, Gayle became the most capped player for the West Indies in international cricket, playing in his 455th match.
Three days later, in the West Indies' final match of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, against Afghanistan, Gayle became the most-capped player for the West Indies in the Cricket World Cup, playing in his 35th match. In the same match he also equalled Brian Lara's record of playing in 299 ODIs for the West Indies.
In the next game against India, he played his 300th ODI match, the only West Indian player to achieve that feat. He also broke the record for the most runs for the West Indies in ODIs, surpassing Brian Lara. In the next match, he scored a breath-taking 72 of just 41 balls, in a knock having 5 maximums, as he led his team to a respectable total of 240 in 35 overs. Chasing a revised target of 255 in 35 overs via DLS, India looked in a spot of bother, but Indian skipper Virat Kohli's unbeaten 114 cost them the match as India won the series 2–0.
In November 2020, Gayle was nominated for the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Decade award. In February 2021, Gayle was recalled to West Indies' T20I squad after two-year absence and named in the T20I squad against Sri Lanka. On 13 July 2021, against Australia in the third T20I, Gayle scored his first T20I half-century in the format since 2016, scoring 67 off 38 deliveries.
In September 2021, Gayle was named in the West Indies' squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.