Despite being the most decorated player in the history of T20s, criticism is still unavoidable.
Chris Gayle is one of those players that likes to keep things as simple as possible. On the pitch, he loves to hit boundary after boundary. Off it, he is known as a vocal player, letting his opinions be heard. Gayle is known to his peers as a no-nonsense, systematic, and by-the-books approach of the game. One example of this is when told reporters not to blame him for the Jozi Stars’ chaotic campaign in the Mzansi Super League (MSL).
So far, the team is suffering from a loss of form. They have lost all of their six games so far. In a post-match interview, Gayle gave a straightforward answer for his team’s horrible performance. At 40 years old, he played in his final match in the tournament and will travel back to the Caribbean. He said that every time his team lost, he was always being blamed for it.
‘I am not talking for this team only. This is something I have analyzed over the years playing franchise cricket. Chris Gayle is always a burden if I don’t score runs, two, three, four times… It seems like that one particular individual is the burden for the team. And then you will hear bickering. I am not going to get respect. People don’t remember what you have done for them. I don’t get respect’.
Chris Gayle is the most decorated player in the shortest format of the game. Despite this, he does not get the respect he deserves whenever he fails. In a statement, he said that everyone criticizes him when he fails and does not give him respect.
‘And I am not talking about this franchise. I am talking generally. Even from players as well, I am talking. Players, management, head of management, board members. Chris Gayle never gets no respect. Once Chris Gayle fails, it’s the end of his career, he is no good, he is the worst player and all these other things. I’ve generally overcome these things and I expect these things and I have lived with these things’.
The 2019 Mzansi Super League, also known as the MSL 2.0, is the second edition of the Mzansi Super League Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in South Africa. To find out about this and other cricket leagues, visit Betwala’s page.
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