When the final list of players for the much-awaited 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auctions arrived, one name that was missing from the list was of West Indies cricket legend Chris Gayle. It has been reported that two IPL franchises for whom Gayle had rendered his services in the past, wanted his name to be included in the final auction list, according to Cricbuzz.
The hard-hitting left-handed batter has represented Kolkata Knight Riders from 2009-2010. He later moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011 as a replacement for Dirk Nannes. Gayle had most of his success playing for RCB. In 2018 he was picked by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).
Gayle has scored 4,965 runs in 142 IPL matches with an average of 39 and a strike rate of 148.96. He has smashed five centuries and 16 half-centuries. Gayle also holds the record of scoring the highest score in IPL history. He scored 175 against now-defunct Pune Warriors India in 2011.
Gayle decided that he will not take part in IPL 2022. In the last season, he left the tournament midway due to bio-bubble fatigue. Apart from Gayle, cricketers Ben Stokes and Mitchell Starc were contacted for a recall, but they too will not take part in the IPL this year. A total of 590 cricketers have been shortlisted and will go under the hammer on 12th and 13th February 2022 in Bangalore.
"The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 Player Auction list is out with a total of 590 cricketers set to go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction which will take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13, 2022," said the board in its statement.
Rs 2 crore is the highest reserve price and 48 players have chosen to place themselves in this bracket. 20 players in the auction list with have a reserve price of Rs 1.5 crore while 34 players are in the list of cricketers with a reserve price of Rs 1 crore.
Amongst 590 players who have registered for the auction, 228 are capped players, 355 are uncapped players and seven belong to Associate Nations.