Christopher Henry Gayle has cited personal reasons for his exit from this year’s Caribbean Premier League. The tournament is expected to be played in Trinidad and Tobago from August 18 to September 10.
An ESPNcricinfo report stated that Gayle informed the St. Lucia Zouks franchise on Monday 22 June, just days away from the players’ draft scheduled for June 24, of his decision. The St. Lucia Zouks franchise had acquired Gayle after he was released by the Jamaica Tallawahs for whom Gayle has had the most success in the history of the CPL. This prompted a youtube video explaining his breakup with the Tallawahs franchise from the CPL’s highest run scorer.
This decision, says the report, has impacted negatively on the Zouks’ plans on the eve of the players’ draft scheduled to be executed virtually due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gayle was originally signed as the Zouks marquee player outside the draft in the US $130,000 – $160,000 price bracket. Since then, CPL announced that players would have to accept a pay cut, due to fallout from the pandemic. Gayle’s cut based on the proposal would have been 30% and his revised payment down to US $112,000 for the 2020 season.
The ESPNcricinfo report indicated that a CPL spokesperson said that the organisers understood Gayle’s decision. “We understand that Chris has decided to not take part in CPL personal reasons. We wish Chris all the best for the rest of 2020 and hope to see him back at CPL in 2021.”
