Chris Gayle of Punjab Kings to skip rest of IPL 2021; West Indian wants to remain fresh for T20 World Cup

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Dubai, October 1: Chris Gayle of Punjab Kings on Friday (October 1) announced that he will not take part in the rest of the IPL 2021 as he wants a break to mentally recharge himself.

Gayle said he wants to refocus and help the West Indies side retain the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in the UAE after the IPL 2021.

Gayle will remain in Dubai but will be unavailable for the rest of the IPL 2021 season.

''Over the last few months I have been part of the CWI (Cricket West Indies) bubble, CPL bubble followed by the IPL bubble, and I wish to mentally recharge adn refresh myself.

''I want to refocus on helping the West Indies in the T20 World Cup and would like to take a break in Dubai.

My thanks to the Punjab Kings for giving me the time off. My wishes and hopes are with the squad always. All the very best for the upcoming games," said Gayle in a statement released by the Kings.

Gayle was having a vastly underwhelming season for the Kings in the IPL 2021. The Jamaican has scored 193 runs from 10 matches for Kings at an average of 21.44 and at a very unusually low strike rate of 125.

He has neither scored a hundred nor a fifty in the IPL 2021. But Gayle came to the IPL 2021 with a lot of positive vibes as he was part of the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots side, who recently won their maiden CPL title.

But Gayle failed to replicate that form in the IPL 2021 for the Kings despite getting ample opportunities at the top of the batting tree, as his highest in the league remained 46.

West Indies are the defending champions in the T20 World Cup, a title that they won in 2016 beating England as Carlos Brathwaite tore into Ben Stokes.