Chris Gayle Reveals Disrespectful Treatment by Punjab Kings Triggered Depression, IPL Exit

Legendary West Indies batter Chris Gayle has said that he was disrespected while playing for the Indian Premier League franchise Punjab Kings (PBKS) and got into depression. PBKS bought Chris Gayle at the IPL 2018 mega auction for Rs 2 Crore, and he went on to play for the franchise for four seasons till 2021.

Recently, Gayle opened up on his tenure at PBKS and revealed that he felt disrespected, which eventually led to his association ending prematurely with the team. The legendary opener also mentioned that he wasn’t treated properly as a senior batter, which pushed him into depression, that he even broke down while talking to head coach Anil Kumble.

"My IPL ended prematurely with Punjab. I was disrespected at Kings XI. I felt I wasn’t treated properly as a senior who had done so much for the league and brought value. They treated me like a kid. For the first time in my life, I felt like getting into depression. I broke down talking to Anil Kumble because I was really hurt. I was disappointed with him and the way the franchise was run. KL Rahul even called me saying, 'Chris, stay, you'll play the next game'. But I just said, 'I wish you all the best', and packed my bag, and walked out,” Gayle said on Shubhankar Mishra's podcast.

Gayle had three good seasons with Punjab as he consistently averaged above 40 for three successive seasons. However, he didn’t have a memorable time in the 2021 season, where he scored 193 runs from ten innings and left the tournament midway citing ‘bio bubble fatigue.’

Gayle further didn’t register for the IPL 2022 mega auction due to mistreatment by Punjab Kings and never returned to play the tournament again. He finished his IPL career with 4965 runs from 141 innings at an average of 39.72 with six hundreds and 31 fifties.