West Indies' all-round star Chris Gayle has been a household name in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since the inception of the cash-rich league. Starting with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he did not play up to his potential, and went on to eventually shine in the league with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), with whom he spent seven seasons as a player.
Gayle was brought into the RCB team in 2011 as a replacement for injured Dutch-Australian pacer Dirk Nannes. After an unpleasant time with KKR, this was a second coming for Gayle, who took this opportunity with folded hands.
His debut season was one of the biggest reasons for RCB reaching the final in 2011 under Daniel Vettori. The Windies star smashed 608 runs in 12 games, striking at a rate of 183, including a couple of centuries and three fifties. Gayle formed a formidable trio with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers as the legendary pinch-hitter destroyed bowling attacks in the IPL and broke records for fun, before being released by the side after 2017.
One of the minds behind Gayle's recruitment was former RCB owner and businessman Vijay Mallya, who caught up with the 'Universe Boss'. The infamous tycoon took to Twitter to share a picture with Gayle and captioned the image, saying, "Great to catch up with my good friend Christopher Henry Gayle, the Universe Boss. Super friendship since I recruited him for RCB. Best acquisition of a player ever."
Mallya, who owned United Spirits, bought the Bangalore-based franchise in 2008. However, the Karnataka-based former businessman resigned in 2016 and United Spirits shut shop before the parent company — British beverage Diageo, took over the operations of Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd (RSCPL).
