Chris Gayle retirement: Has Chris Gayle played his last T20I for West Indies?

Chris Gayle retirement: The veteran West Indian batter received a standing ovation after returning to the pavilion today.

During the 38th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 between Australia and West Indies in Abu Dhabi, Australia vice-captain Pat Cummins made early inroads into the West Indian batting lineup by sending back veteran batter Chris Gayle to the pavilion.

It all happened on the second delivery of the third over when Gayle played on to a delivery whilst wanting to play a second consecutive big shot. Gayle, who had hit a Cummins slower delivery over a long-on for six on the previous delivery, departed after scoring 15 (9) with the help of two sixes.

Cummins providing his team with an opening was cashed in by Josh Hazlewood, who dismissed Nicholas Pooran (4) and Roston Chase (0) in the following over after captain Aaron Finch invited West Indies to bat first today.

As far as Gayle is concerned, the Universe Boss received a heartwarming standing ovation from his teammates upon reaching the dugout. While Gayle hasn’t made anything official as of now, there have been signs of him retiring from international cricket after this World Cup.

Having scored 45 runs at a poor average and strike rate of 9 and 91.83 respectively in this tournament, 42-year old Gayle doesn’t have age and form on his side now. With another T20 World Cup to be played in a year or so, West Indies might look to start afresh after this debacle.

Veteran all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who is playing his 224th international match across formats with Gayle also in the Playing XI, had confirmed his international retirement earlier this week.

Chris Gayle retirement

Readers must note that Gayle had announced his international retirement during India’s tour of West Indies 2019. However, soon after the match, Gayle had made a U-turn saying that he is still available for West Indies.