#OTD in 1979: Legendary Chris Gayle was born in Jamaica
Gayle played for WI in all 3 formats [PC: Twitter]
On this day, forty-three years ago, Universe Boss Chris Gayle was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He featured in 483 international matches across all formats from 2000 to 2021.
Furthermore, Gayle is the top-scorer in the T20 format with 14562 runs in 463 appearances, with exposure to almost all the franchise leagues.
World Cup Hero
In the opening match of the T20 World Cup 2007 against South Africa, Gayle wreaked havoc to slam 117 off 57 balls. This was the first-ever century by any player in the T20I format. In the 2012 edition of the T20 WC, Gayle hit 222 runs in six innings to help the Caribbean lift their maiden title in the shortest format.
With 113 runs in four appearances at a prolific strike rate of 194.82, the 43-year-old played a key role in the team's title victory in the T20 WC 2016 as well.
Interestingly, the southpaw played his last international fixture in the T20 WC 2021.
Lighting up the IPL
Gayle-Kohli-AB were the potent trio for RCB (PC: Twitter)
After a few dull seasons in the Indian Premier League, Gayle went unsold in the 2011 auctions. However, he was soon named as a replacement for Dirk Nannes by RCB, which turned out to be a career-defining moment. He emerged as the top-run scorer with 608 runs in 12 games to take the franchise to the finals.
The IPL 2013 witnessed him unleashing his lethal best to amass 708 runs in 16 games, including the highest-ever individual score of 175*.
Gayle continued his blitz for the RCB until 2017, and then featured for Punjab Kings until the 2021 edition. He is eighth on the list of batting charts with 4965 runs in 142 games, with six centuries and 31 fifties.
