Chris Gayle leaves Punjab Kings bio-bubble: The Universe Boss will no longer take part in Indian Premier League 2021.
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Veteran West Indies and Punjab Kings batter Chris Gayle has opted out of the bio-bubble organized for the ongoing second leg of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League.
In the 10 matches that Gayle has played for Kings this season, his 193 runs have come at an average and strike rate of 21.44 and 125.32 respectively with a highest score of 46.
The UAE leg continued to witness PBKS tinkering with Gayle’s batting position. An archetype opening batter across formats, the 42-year old player didn’t get to open the batting even in the absence of Mayank Agarwal in their last match against defending champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Chris Gayle leaves Punjab Kings IPL 2021 bio-bubble
The development was announced by Punjab via a social media post which said that Gayle has decided to leave the bio-bubble due to “bubble fatigue”. In the recent months, Gayle has been part of various bio-bubbles for West Indies, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots (Caribbean Premier League 2021) and now Punjab.
With an ICC T20 World Cup to be played right after IPL 2021, Gayle laid emphasis on “refocusing” ahead of what might well be his last world event.
ALSO READ: What is a bio-bubble in cricket?
“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,” Gayle said in a statement published across Kings’ social media handles.
It is a big decision to leave the bubble. But it is an illustration of what players are going through and Gayle won’t be the last. Patience wears thin, irritants become larger, it isn’t easy.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 30, 2021
While one can never say never with Gayle, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he remains unsold in IPL 2022 mega auction. If that happens, Gayle will finish his career at PBKS with 1,339 runs in 41 innings at an average and strike rate of 36.19 and 143.21 respectively including one century and 10 half-centuries.
Bio bubble fatigue meaning in Cricket
The simple meaning of the word “fatigue” is excessive tiredness resulting from any type of exertion (physical or mental). Similarly, bio-bubble fatigue happens due to spending excessive time inside bio-secure environments.
A primary reason why cricketers (or any other athlete) complain about bio-bubble fatigue is that living in such environments for an elongated time period has it in it to affect an individual mentally. Not being able to physically meet new people (including family and friends) while constantly traveling around the world amidst the pressure of elite on-field performances can surely affect anyone’s well-being.
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