‘STARBOY’ CHRIS GAYLE

I don’t know what it is about Chris Gayle this season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but whatever it is, he should try to bottle it and use it again and again until he retires. Whether it was unburdening himself of all the drama that is West Indies cricket or resolving that this is the end of his days playing for the Caribbean side or his home country, one thing is for certain; The Royal Challengers Bangalore must be counting their lucky stars for the day they signed him. They must also be thankful to the West Indies Cricket Board for their infernal bungling.

The IPL is in its fourth year and there have been challenges. Chief among them is the falling television ratings, a situation that could be linked to the fact that the novelty of the league is wearing off. On the bright side though, ticket sales have been on the rise and I am sure that Bangalore and the remarkable play of Gayle have been partly responsible.

The IPL features some of the best cricket talent in the world. Quality hard-hitting batsmen that include Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, AB DeVilliers, Jacques Kallis, Shaun Marsh, and Virender Sehwag and some of the world’s best bowlers like Brett Lee, Dale Steyn and Harbhajan Singh.  And Gayle has outshone them all.

Tendulkar, widely regarded as the best batsman in the world, has played all of 14 matches, scored 477 runs at an average of 43.66. He has scored one century. Kallis, the backbone of South Africa and the Kolkata Knight Riders has also played 14 matches and scored 417 runs at an average of 37.90 and with a top score of 80 not out. Marsh has played 14 matches but batted 13 times and scored 504 runs with a top score of 95 and at an average of 42. These represent some pretty impressive statistics but Gayle has made all of them pale in comparison.

Lets start with the fact that Gayle has only played nine matches because he joined the league late. In those nine matches Gayle has scored 511 runs. Only once did he fail to score. A couple years ago Gayle became the first man to score an international Twenty20 century . This season he added to that record by being the first batsman to score two centuries in the same IPL season. He also has two 50s. He scored his 511 runs at a average of 85.16 runs per innings and at a strike rate of 187.17, by far the best strike rate in the IPL this season. His season’s average is at least 20 points better than the next best average.

What is remarkable he has destroyed all the bowlers that have challenged him smashing 47 fours and an incredible 38 sixes! The number of sixes he has hit is at least 18 more than any one of the top batsmen in the league this year and this is from at least four fewer matches played.

His remarkable play so far this season that has pushed Bangalore to the top of the standings and qualified them for the semi-final play offs, has prompted Bangalore captain New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori to remark that he has never seen Gayle play better. I would venture to say no one else, not even “the starboy” himself  has either.