Windies batting star Chris Gayle has been picked up by the Kings XI Punjab on the second day of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.
The 38-year-old Gayle, who had no takers on the first day was also left on the auction block for the second round of picks. The third time, however, proved to be the charm for the big West Indian who was taken for his base price of Rs 2 crore (20m Indian rupees US$314,685).
The swashbuckling batsman spent the last several seasons at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) but was not among three players retained when the list was released three weeks ago.
Gayle, the record runs scorer in the shortest format of the game, has struggled to make a positive impression in the competition for the last two seasons. The batsman played 19 matches in total and only managed to score 447 runs. The player was shockingly left out of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) last year but rebounded with a strong performance in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) where he led Rangpur Riders past Dhaka Dynamites in the final.
Kings XI Punjab’s best finish in the IPL came in 2014 where the team claimed the runner-up spot. (SportsMax)
