'There can be only one Gayle'

There can be only one Chris Gayle, the man himself admits and with no hesitation.

Few have the penchant for long strikes, a matching extravagant lifestyle and eyebrow-raising comments in public. On or off the field, the Caribbean star is a character the sport needs. His bat might not have fired this season in IPL but the left-hander was confident that he was far from finished. In fact, he wants to be the part of next ODI World Cup.

Gayle has had his fallouts with West Indies Cricket Board, but he is open to giving it another try, even Tests for that matter. "We have some youngsters playing in the longer format. I wonder if it is worthwhile going back and giving it a try. Do they want you back, is another question.
“I will see what suits me, I definitely want to play another World Cup. Is it 2019? That is going to be my push, that’s for sure," Gayle said at a promotional event.

Asked whether there is a defensive Gayle also, the 37-year-old insisted he was good at making quick adjustments.  "I am good at brain-click; switch on, switch off for different occasions. I always play the two formats very well -- Tests and one-dayers. I always make the necessary adjustments with the red ball and the white ball. The experience has helped me in tackling all the three formats. It’s been fantastic to be dominant in all forms of the game.

“Most people don’t give me the credit I deserve, that’s unfortunate. But I know what I have done and what my capabilities are even if given a chance to play Test cricket again."

There are new Twenty20 leagues coming up around the world, but Gayle feels IPL will stay right up there. "IPL is always going to be the biggest T20 league around the world. Lot of money is being paid to the players. It is big business for all the franchises around the world. I am sure you will have new leagues around the arena. T20 cricket is always going to be on the rise, it is not going to go out of fashion."

Talking about Kohli, Gayle was a bit empathetic considering the kind of pressure he was in during the RCB’s wretched campaign. “You feel for Virat when he has to put forth his views at post-match presentations when the team loses so consistently. You can see he is at a loss for words. What reason can he give match after match?” he asked.

“But then he knows that he is the leader of the pack. But when a team loses, we are all in it. All I can say is that we would like to put up a far better show next time around,” he said.

So can a youngster dream to be another Gayle? "There can be a Gayle but there is only going to be one Chris Gayle. Try and not to emulate Gayle because The Gayle is very unique. You just try to be yourself. They can look at a few things and pick sensible nuances to fit into their perspective. But there is only one Gayle. “And there is only one Universe Boss," the maverick signed off with a punch line.