T20 World Cup 2021: Chris Gayle, the original 'Ronin' bids West Indies farewell

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Abu Dhabi, November 6: The entertainment is over. Or so it seems. Chris Gayle might just have played his last innings in the shining maroon of the West Indies.

He did not go down with a whimper. In his 9-ball 15 Gayle reminded us of the skills that made him the most prolific T20 batsman of all time.

He started off with a 6 off Josh Hazlewood. The Australia quick delivered that back of the length ball and the left-hander went boom — a six over long-on.

Pat Cummins received the same treatment a couple of balls later. Cummins wanted to bisect Gayle sending down the ball across him but the Jamaican stood tall and muscled a pull over long on. An incredible shot.

He did all that wearing a shade under his helmet. For him the greatest stage of T20 cricket seemed a beachside sunny cricket in one of the Caribbean islands.

But that was it for the day. In the very next ball, Cummins castled him with a fuller ball on the off-stump as the inside edge crashed onto the timber.

Gayle walked off intuit trademark trundling fashion and closer to the ropes, the Jamaican removed his helmet, revealed the shades, lifted his arms and crossed over to the other side, literally and could be forever too.

His records are awesome enough to project his greatness in the format — 445 innings, 14321 runs, average of 36.44, strike-rate of 145.4, 22 hundreds and 87 fifties. No one is even close to him in numbers.

Not in just in numbers but in impact on cricket too. Mind you, Gayle is an extraordinary batsman, one with two triple hundreds in Test cricket. He is proud of it too, evidenced by that 333 behind his jersey.

He also has been a path-breaker. Perhaps, Gayle is the first cricketer to tell us that it is no crime to leave the world of Test cricket, seeking greener pastures in T20 cricket and in the myriad leagues across the world.

So many called him a cricketing mercenary, and he wore it like a badge. So many blamed him for abandoning West Indies cricket at a critical time but he stood his ground. He was clear of the path he has chosen. Gayle made his last Test appearance for West Indies in 2014 at 34.

In fact, several cricketers in Windies followed the way Gayle showed. Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis, etc from the islands and then from across the world cricketers like Lasith Malinga followed the suit.

In some ways, we can say that the move optimised their careers as many of them played towards their late 30s and in the case of Gayle early 40s. Trust me, it was not an easy decision to make, there were run-ins with officials and former cricketers who vouched for the supremacy of red-ball format.

Gayle countered all that with typical gusto, and recently he lashed at legendary pacer Curtly Ambrose — “I am done with Curtly.”

But all that was part of the 'Universe Boss’ persona he created in the latter stages of his career. In fact, Gayle became even more wanted and popular once he began to use his big-hitting skills as a trading tool to get T20 contracts.

There was not one single T20 league that did not want Gayle. IPL, BBL, BPL, LPL, PSL, CPL, only the abbreviations changed but the demand for Gayle remained the same.

Gayle seldom disappointed the owners and fans even when there were sprinkles of controversies.

We might just see him playing around the globe for another year before moving away from cricket altogether.

But the appearances are increasingly diminishing like that of a fading star. But Gayle has opened up an avenue on which several players will walk upon.

So, farewell the original Ronin.