The Universe Boss Chris Gayle: Life, Career, IPL and Retirement

Six hitting is one of the most interesting parts of batting in cricket. And now in the shortest format of the game, T20 Cricket, it is one of the most important abilities a batter can have. But when we talk about power hitting in cricket, one name for sure comes to mind, and that is Chris Gayle. One of the best batsmen ever hailing from the West Indies, he redefined six hitting with his uncanny ability to smack any ball out of the park. All his career, he dominated the T20 Cricket Format with his batting technique and for his ability, Chris Gayle is also known as the God of T20 Cricket. 

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So, let’s know more about The Universe Boss, Chris Gayle, his career, and his records.

Chris Gayle's Early Life and Career:

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Chris Gayle was born on 21 September 1979 in Kingston, Jamaica and his age right now is 44 years old. His family had terrible financial circumstances when he was a child. His mother Hazel Gayle was forced to work as a street vendor by day to make any money to feed the family. He finished his early childhood education at Jamaica's Excelsior High School in Campbell Town but was only able to finish his schooling up till tenth class schooling because of his family's financial situation. He began playing cricket with the boys in his neighbourhood and over time, the sport had turned into his passion.  Gayle always tried to hit the ball really hard and far when he played cricket in his neighbourhood as a boy because he disliked running between the wickets during the batting. Who knew this ability would make him one of the best batters ever? He was scouted by the selectors of the Lucas Cricket Club in Jamaica, and after refining his batting technique, he started playing for the club and even went on to say that if it wasn’t for Lucas, he would still be on the streets. He was a part of the  1998 Under-19 Cricket World Cup and made his first-class debut for Jamaica in 1998 at age 19. A year later, at 20 years of age, the future Universe Boss would go onto make his international cricket debut. 

Chris Gayle International Debut and Career:

Chris Gayle ODI Career:

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The Universe Boss Chris Gayle dominated the bowlers with his batting across all formats of the game. Gayle made his ODI Debut in 1999. After a slow start to his career, he blew off scoring 3 centuries against India in 2002 and becoming only the third West Indies batsman after Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara to score 1000 runs in a calendar year. He is one of just six players in the history of One Day International who have scored 150 runs in an innings more than three times. Gayle made waves in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy by being named the player of the tournament, scoring a total of 474 runs, which included 3 centuries, and picking up 8 wickets. It was truly an exceptional performance. He carried the West Indies side to the final of the tournament but were eventually defeated by the Australian Cricket Team. During the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia, Gayle smashed a double hundred against Zimbabwe in a group stage match, scoring 215 runs off 147 deliveries. Chris Gayle officially became the first cricketer ever to reach a double century in ODI history and the fourth overall. He, along with Marlon Samuels' scored 372 runs in the same match, the highest batting partnership in Cricket World Cup history. He played in his 455th international match during the 2019 World Cup, making history as the most-capped player in West Indies' history for international cricket. Chris also became the only West Indian player to play in 300 ODIs, breaking Brian Lara's record of 299 ODIs. He also broke Lara's record for the most runs scored by the West Indies in One-Day Internationals.

Chris Gayle’s T20I Career:

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The Universe Boss is most known for his fearless hitting in the shortest format, the T20 Cricket format. Chris Gayle’s T20I Debut for West Indies came on 16 February 2006 v New Zealand, which started one of the greatest careers in a single format of the game. Gayle scored his maiden century in international T20Is in the opening ICC World Twenty20 encounter against South Africa, scoring a blistering 117, which would remain the highest T20I score by a batsman until 2012. He was a part of the West Indies team for the 2012 ICC T20 World Cup and went on to win the tournament after beating Sri Lanka in the finals. Then again in 2016, they won the tournament after defeating England in the finals at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, thanks to a miraculous finish by Carlos Brathwaite in the final over. With 2 T20 World Cup trophies, multiple international T20 Centuries, and run scoring records, Gayle’s T20I career is truly legendary and has arguably cemented his legacy as the God of the T20 Cricket Format. 

Chris Gayle’s Test Career:

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Though Gayle is mainly known for his T20 batting style, his Test career too, is very impressive. His Test cricket career showcased both resilience and dominance. After a slow international start, he rose to prominence with a triple century against South Africa in 2005, making history as the first-ever against the Proteas. Gayle registered his second test cricket triple century, against Sri Lanka scoring 333, his highest score in Test Cricket in the match. Chris Gayle later chose to wear 333 as his jersey number, as an ode to his highest test score. 

Chris Gayle IPL Team and Career:

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Chris Gayle has been one of the best batsmen ever in the Indian Premier League (IPL), having held all run scoring, six hitting, or any other batting record at some time. He started his career in the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders but due to a groin injury, couldn’t play in the inaugural edition. He debuted in the IPL in 2009 but his performance like KKR’s on a whole was decent at best. After a similar 2010 campaign, he went unsold in the IPL Auction 2011. Chris Gayle was left without a team in 2011 but then after an injury to Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Dirk Nannes, he was brought in as his replacement, starting a story of redemption and complete domination of the league. In his very first season at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, he scored 608 runs which included a century against his former side, KKR. He was the major reason why the Royal Challengers reached the IPL final that year. But, the story wasn’t as pretty in the final against Chennai Super Kings, where he was dismissed very early, which resulted in CSK lifting the trophy. He would better his stats and run-scoring records in the 2012 IPL season, scoring 733 runs including one IPL century. That year, Chris Gayle set the record of hitting the most sixes in a single IPL season, when he sent the ball out of the park a humongous 59 times. He rained sixes every time he was in his best form and no bowler was safe from the carnage he brought onto the cricket pitch. Then, in 2013, we witnessed the Gayle Storm at its peak. Chris Gayle scored 175 runs in just 66 balls against the Pune Warriors India, which is the highest score in the IPL, an innings that can be considered the single greatest knock by a cricketer in the t20 format ever. Chris Gayle even scored the fastest IPL century during that knock in just 30 balls, a record, which will likely never be broken. He continued to play for RCB and formed one of the best batting partnerships with Virat Kohli. Their friendship on the field was something every RCB fan admired. RCB had a chance at the trophy once again in 2016 when they were playing the finals against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The Universe Boss played a blistering inning of 76 off 38 deliveries, but RCB ended up falling short of 6 runs at the end of the innings. After a poor season in 2017 he was released by RCB. Chris Gayle was picked up by the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in 2018 at his base price of 2 crore rupees. Gayle suffered from a lack of form and fitness, and often couldn’t even run between the wickets fast enough, but still continued to entertain people with his batting. In his years with Punjab, he scored a century and twice ended his innings on 99. He would stay with the Punjab team for four years, from 2018 to 2021, which was his final year in the IPL. The history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) would never be complete without the sheer chaos, insanity, and flamboyance that Christopher Henry Gayle brought to the tournament during his peak years.

Decoding Chris Gayle’s Power hitting Batting Style:

The Universe Boss is known for his insane power hitting ability and could dispatch even the best bowlers out of the park. With a height of 6 foot 1 inch, Chris Gayle had an imposing physique which was enough to intimidate any bowler. His weight sat around 95-98 kgs during his time with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, no wonder where he brought that power to smack the leather ball out of the park. Along with this, he also used a cricket bat that weighed around 1300 grams and is considered traditonally heavy, but added more power to his shots. But not just power, the left handed batter had the right batting technique and timed the shot exquisitely well every time he hit the ball. He loved hitting the ball over square with the pull shot against fast bowlers and the slog sweep against spin bowling. He could even play well straight down the ground and drive well through the covers early on in the innings. One thing that he was criticized the most about was his running between the wickets and slow fielding. Gayle wasn’t the quickest while running between the wickets and his batting partner had to adjust with his pace, but Chris made up for it with the sixes he hit. He could also bowl some overs of off spin whenever the team needed. He was decent as a fielder with his main fielding positions at the slips or inside the 30 yard circle. 

Chris Gayle Stats:

Format	Mat	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s
Tests	103	7214	333	42.18	11970	60.26	15	37
ODIs	301	10480	215	37.83	12019	87.19	25	54
T20Is	79	1899	117	27.92	1381	137.50	2	14

Test Records: 

Chris Gayle has had a prolific Test career, playing 103 matches and scoring 7214 runs at an average of 42.18. He holds an impressive record of 15 centuries and 37 fifties, with a highest score of 333. Known for his aggressive style, Gayle has also smashed 1046 boundaries and 98 sixes in Test cricket.

ODI Records: 

In One Day Internationals (ODIs), Gayle has been a dominant force, scoring 10480 runs in 301 matches at an average of 37.83. His powerful batting has resulted in 25 centuries and 54 half-centuries, including a highest score of 215. He has been a boundary-hitting machine, striking 1128 fours and an astonishing 331 sixes in ODIs. Chris Gayle’s highest score in ODIs is 215 runs he scored against Zimbabwe at the 2015 Cricket World Cup. 

T20I Records: 

The Universe Boss’ T20 International career has seen him play 79 matches, scoring a total of 1899 runs at an average of 27.92. Although he might have a relatively lower average in this format, his strike rate of 137.50 demonstrates his ability to accelerate the innings. Chris Gayle’s highest score in T20Is is 117 and has scored 2 T20I centuries and 14 fifties, hitting 158 fours and an impressive 124 total sixes in T20Is.

Chris Gayle in his entire International cricket career, played 483 matches and scored a total of 19593 runs across all three formats. Gayle has scored 42 international centuries in total smacking 553 international sixes, second only to Rohit Sharma. 

Chris Gayle IPL Stats and Records:

Year	Matches	Runs	100s	50s	Highest Score	Strike Rate	Batting Average
2009	7	171	0	0	44*	119.58	28.50
2010	9	292	0	2	88	158.69	32.44
2011	12	608	2	3	107	183.13	67.55
2012	15	733	1	7	128*	160.74	61.08
2013	16	708	1	4	175*	156.29	59.00
2014	9	196	0	0	46	106.52	21.77
2015	14	491	1	2	117	147.44	40.91
2016	10	227	0	2	76	151.33	22.70
2017	9	200	0	1	77	122.69	22.22
2018	11	368	1	3	104*	146.03	40.88
2019	13	490	0	4	99*	153.60	40.83
2020	7	288	0	3	99	137.14	41.14
2021	10	193	0	0	46	125.32	21.44
Career	142	4965	6	31	175*	148.96	39.72

Chris Gayle has had a prolific IPL career, scoring a total of 4965 runs in 142 matches with a remarkable strike rate of 148.96 and a batting average of 39.72. He has scored 6 IPL centuries and 31 half-centuries. Gayle's highest score in the IPL of 175* remains the highest individual score in IPL history. Known for his aggressive approach, he has consistently maintained a high strike rate, making him one of the most feared and entertaining batsmen in the tournament.                        

Chris Gayle Cricket Records:

1. First (and so far only) batsman to score a triple century in Test cricket, double century in ODI Cricket and a century in T20Is.
2. Only player to hit the first ball of a Test match for six.
3. Highest run-scorer for the West Indies in ODIs.
4. Second West Indies player (after Brian Lara), and 14th overall, to pass 10,000 runs in ODIs.
5. In World Cup 2015, Chris Gayle hit the fastest ever ODI double century against Zimbabwe, off 138 balls.
6. Third batsman to score a century against eleven different countries in ODIs.
7. Fastest ODI fifty by West Indies batsmen (50 runs in 19 balls).
8. Most runs in a single ICC Champions Trophy series (474 runs).
9. Holds the record, along with Marlon Samuels, for the highest ever ODI stand for any wicket (372 runs for 2nd wicket).
10. Along with Devon Smith, he set the record for the highest opening stand in ICC World T20 history (145).

Chris Gayle Retirement:

After such an illusitrious career, you might be wondering, Where is Chris Gayle now? He played his last international game for the West Indies Team during the 2021 T20 World Cup against Australia. He was called to bowl in his final ever game when West Indies were nowhere close to winning the match and ended up taking a surprise wicket to dismiss Mitchell Marsh. He still continues to play in some T20 and T10 leagues, but at 44 years of age, Gayle’s retirement is soon to come. Post retirement, he plans to venture into becoming a musician and has already released multiple music albums. 

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