Chris Gayle spoke at length about how he felt “mistreated” during his IPL stint with the Punjab Kings.
The first batter to hit a T20 International hundred, Gayle’s 14,562 runs, 22 hundreds, and 1,056 sixes are still records in all T20 cricket. His 175 not out, for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru) against the Pune Warriors India in IPL 2012 is still the highest individual score in the format.
Between 2009 and 2021, Gayle played 142 games in the IPL. After representing the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009 and 2010, he played for the RCB until 2017 before finishing his IPL career with the Kings XI Punjab (later Punjab Kings). During his RCB stint, he won the Orange Cap in 2011 and 2012.
Chris Gayle expresses disappointment with Kings XI Punjab
Gayle was not particularly impressed by the Punjab franchise during his stint, as he revealed on the Subhankar Mishra podcast: “Oh, my IPL ended prematurely with Punjab. To be honest, I was disrespected at Kings XI Punjab. I felt I wasn’t treated properly as a senior player who had done so much for the league and brought value to the franchise. Instead, they treated me like a kid. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was slipping into depression.”
Gayle recalled in vivid detail what he went through: “Your mental health is more important than money. I called Anil [Kumble, then Punjab head coach] and told him I was leaving. At the time, we had the World Cup and were stuck in a bubble, which was destroying me mentally. After my last game against Mumbai, I thought, ‘This doesn’t make sense. I’ll do myself more damage by staying.’”
The 2021 IPL, Gayle’s last season, began in India before Covid-19 brought it to a halt. The second leg of the season was played in the UAE. In his last game, against the Mumbai Indians at Abu Dhabi, Gayle made a solitary run before Kieron Pollard snared him. Gayle finished his IPL career 35 runs short of the 5,000-mark.
“I broke down talking to Anil because I was really hurt,” Gayle recalled. “I was disappointed with him and the way the franchise was run. KL Rahul, the captain, even called me saying, ‘Chris, stay, you’ll play the next game.’ But I just said, ‘I wish you all the best,’ packed my bag, and walked out."
Gayle left the IPL for good. At that point, however, he had cited biobubble fatigue as the reason. Punjab went ahead without him for their last three games of the season, against KKR, RCB, and Chennai Super Kings, and finished sixth out of eight teams.
In 2025, RCB won the IPL for the first time by defeating Punjab in the final. For the final, RCB had invited their old heroes, AB de Villiers and Gayle, who lifted the trophy along with the team.
Will Gayle – who will turn 46 this month – return to the IPL? “I was mistreated. I am available. If they want me, I’ll come,” he assured. “But yes, I do have grudges. Loyalty means a lot to me.”
