Cricketer Chris Gayle- a Man with a ‘Big Big Bat’ Interacts with Mangaluru Fans
Mangaluru: If you recall the instance that happened last year in Bengaluru when West Indian Cricketer Chris Gayle had made lewd remarks to a female journalist in a news interview where he discusses sex and gender equality, was in Kudla today to interact with his fans, and mostly to promote a Vodka brand. But luckily there were no female journos to have close encounters with him when he made visits to a few liquor outlets in Mangaluru and in the outskirts of the City.
Recalling the incident that happened during the the month of May 2016, when female journalist Charlotte Edwardes had interviewed the powerful West Indian in Bengaluru, when he played for the Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League, as per the female journo, 36-year-old Chris had boasted about having “a very, very big bat, the biggest in the wooooorld,” adding, “You think you could lift it? You’d need two hands. These ignorant comments landed Chris in big trouble. Also in another instance, the West Indies batsman was fined $10,000 by the Melbourne Renegades for his inappropriate comments made to Channel Ten reporter Mel McLaughlin. But when it comes to a cricketer the old incidents are forgotten, and he gets a royal welcome here in Kudla.
Cricket fans who liked Chris Gayle thronged all the places he visited, some couldn’t get a chance to have a selfie taken with him since he was protected by hefty bouncers throughout his visits. But some were lucky to click some pics either on their smartphones or portable cameras. But for many of his hardcore fans, Chris disappointed them by not even spending a few minutes with them, since he was under a busy tight schedule. But sources reveal that Chris liked the Coastal city and the people that he interacted with, and was looking forward to tasting some authentic local, cuisine at a restaurant in Yeyyadi, where he will be joined by only special people who purchased tickets?? Who cares?
A brief bio-data reveals that Christopher Henry “Chris” Gayle (born 21 September 1979) is a Jamaican cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies. Considered one of the most powerful batsmen in limited-overs cricket, Gayle has set numerous records in all formats of the game. He is one of only four players who has scored two triple centuries at the Test level: 317 against South Africa in 2005, and 333 against Sri Lanka in 2010.
He is known as a big hitter, very often hitting sixes; in 2012 he became the first player to hit a six off the first ball of a Test match. Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, he scored a 30-ball century, that became the highest individual T20 score (175 not out). It eclipsed the previous mark set by Brendon McCullum of Kolkata Knight Riders. At the launch of the Caribbean Premier League, he was announced as the first franchise player in the league.
Gayle became the first batsman in World Cup history to score a double century when he reached 200 off 138 balls against Zimbabwe during the 2015 World Cup. He finished with 215 runs, which was the record for highest score in a World Cup until it was broken by Martin Guptill against Gayle’s own team. He is one of the five players to score a double century in ODIs. In March 2016, Gayle became only the second player (after Brendon McCullum) to hit two Twenty20 International hundreds, scoring 100 not out against England.
Gayle captained the West Indies’ Test side from 2007 to 2010. He plays domestic cricket for Jamaica, and also represented the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League, the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League, the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League and the Dhaka Gladiators in the Bangladesh Premier League. He has also represented Worcestershire, the Western Warriors, Sydney Thunder, Barisal Burners, Kolkata Knight Riders and Somerset in his career. He was also selected for team Uva Next for the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League in 2012.
One of the hardest hitters of the cricket ball in the modern game, Gayle is known to put opposition bowlers under pressure with his no-holds-barred style of batting. Most dangerous on the off side, Gayle’s style is not exactly copy book but he still has a technique which is quite effective. His darting off spinners has also proved handy in ODIs and at a time when West Indies have failed to produce even decent batsmen, Gayle is naturally a silver lining.