5 reasons why Chris Gayle nearly missed an IPL contract

Chris Gayle who is one of the most destructive players in the world is slowly fading away with time. Gayle has scored more than 11,000 runs playing in over 300 T20s and has hit 20 centuries, the most by any batsman in the world.

Chris Gayle who has been a great crowd puller in T20 tournaments all over the world nearly missed an IPL contract this year after he went unsold in the first round of the auction. None of the teams showed interest in him when his name came up on the morning of Day-1 of the auction.

Gayle fans were left agitated after the explosive batsman who was placed on the marquee list of players went unsold but at the end of the Day-2, Preity Zinta won millions of hearts after she bought the 'universe boss' at his base price and this meant that fans will get to see him for another season.

Here are a few reasons why no other team apart from Kings XI Punjab showed interest in him in the auction.

#5 Running between the wickets

Chris Gayle has been facing difficulty in running over the last few years. Gayle has been facing back problems for quite a long time now and a knee injury a few years back has left his knee prone to injuries. This makes him resistant to running fast between the wickets which have become a problem for other batsmen in the team rotating the strike with him.

The running problem has already hampered his Test career and now is pestering him in the T20s. Not only between the wickets but this has been a problem in the field too. He is often seen fielding at positions that require less movement.

#4 Not dependable

It's no denying the fact that Chris Gayle has been the best batsman in the shortest format of the game. Scoring over 11,000 runs in T20s is not easy and he carries enough experience as a batsman after scoring all those runs. But it's evident that he is not a player who can be banked upon for getting the runs.

Gayle may score a big hundred on his day while on other days he gets out cheaply. This has now become a frequent problem with him. This was one of the biggest reasons that he was not considered a retention option by Royal Challengers Bangalore.

#3 The age factor

It's a well-known fact that age of 40 is the upper limit for retirement for most of the cricketers, especially batsmen. Chris Gayle is now 38 years old and is nearing his retirement.

While he may have 2 to 3 years of cricket left in himself, most of the franchises in the IPL are looking for a long-term foreign option. His age has been a great factor in deciding his fate in the IPL auction.

#2 Form in internationals

Chris Gayle's form in internationals just before this year's IPL auction was one of the deciding factors in that no other team apart from King XI Punjab showed interest in him.

Gayle played in the ODI and T20I series against New Zealand that began in late December He scored 22 and 4 in the first and the third ODI respectively while he didn't play in the 2nd ODI. In the T20I series, he managed to score 12 in the first T20I and got out on 0 in the third T20I while the second T20I was washed out.

#1 Form in the last two seasons of the IPL

Chris Gayle has performed below par in the last two seasons of the IPL. Although he has been a mainstay in the Bangalore squad ever since he was bought by the team in 2011 and has scored tons of runs for the franchise, his form in the last two seasons has gone downhill.

In the last season of the IPL, Gayle scored 200 runs in the 9 matches that he played at an average of 22.22. In the season he could manage to score a fifty only once. In the 2016 season, he scored 227 runs in 10 matches at an average of 22.70 and could manage to touch the 50 run mark only twice.