BPL 2019: Why Chris Gayle missed Rangpur Riders' first two matches

The 2019 Bangladesh Premier League got underway a couple of days back. The fact that one of the biggest names in the tournament, Chris Gayle, did not play in his team's first two matches, has raised a few eyebrows.

Playing for Rangpur Riders, Gayle arrived in the country on Saturday morning, the day of his team's first match, and it was said that he was rested for the clash against Chittagong Vikings because he couldn't recover from the jet lag. He was also not included in the playing XI for Riders' second game of the season against Khulna Titans yesterday and this move of Riders face a lot of criticisms from the fans.

It was later revealed that the Jamaican was barred from taking part in the tournament as he could not submit the required no-objection certificate on time.

"We did not receive his NOC before the match and so we could not allow him to take part against Khulna Titans. Maybe they could not submit it on time as it was quite late in Windies. We just received a mail and that suggests we would get it very soon. The franchise have taken everything in the right spirit," BPL technical committee chairman Jalal Yunus told Cricbuzz.

Riders are off to a decent start in the tournament as they lost their first match against Vikings by three wickets before getting the better of Titans by eight runs. Currently, they are fourth in the points table with two points in as many games.

Gayle, who scored a century in the final of the last edition and helped win Riders win the title, will be available for their third game of the season as BPL confirmed that his NOC was received after his team's second game of the season. Rangpur Riders take on Comilla Victorians in their third match in Mirpur on Tuesday.