'I have huge debt, need to pay bills' - Lalit Modi reveals conversation with Chris Gayle after IPL 2011 auction snub

Former cricket administrator and founder of the IPL, Lalit Modi, has revealed conversations that he had with Chris Gayle before the West Indies batter’s first season with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2011.

Playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders from 2009-10 in the IPL, Gayle’s poor form in the two seasons meant that he went unsold in the 2011 auction. Modi revealed details of a phone call that he had with the dashing opener ahead of the 2011 season.

“You know, there was a time in 2011; I remember very clearly, I had just left the IPL, come back to London, and my good friend, Chris Gayle, wasn’t picked up at the auction, and I get a call from him. Nobody’s picked me up at the auction. I said, you didn’t perform. IPL is all about performing. You played for the Kolkata Knight Riders. My feeling is, you didn’t perform, you can perform, but you just got lazy about it,” recollected Lalit Modi while speaking to Michael Vaughan on the Overlap Cricket Podcast.

Gayle was then picked up by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru midway through the season as an injury replacement for the Australian seamer Dirk Nannes. Modi revealed going up to Vijay Mallya and referring Gayle to the then-RCB owner, after Gayle informed Modi of his desperation to sign for teams due to rising debts and lack of funds.

“He said, I really wanted it, I have a huge debt, and I think I need it to pay my bills. I made a few calls. Call 1, 2,3. Everybody said no. I went across the road to Vijay Mallya’s house. I said, Vijay, give this bloke a try. He said, you know, I think Nathan’s [Nannes] been injured or something. Nathan [Nannes] was injured. He said, I have an opening. But I’ll pay him if he performs,” Modi narrated.

Gayle had one of the most memorable debuts for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, scoring an unbeaten 102 off 55 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders. He scored another fantastic 107 off 49 balls against the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) as he finished with the Orange Cap, scoring 608 runs in 12 games in RCB’s run to the final. In 2013, he broke the record for the fastest T20 century when he reached the milestone in just 30 balls in his unbeaten 66-ball blitz of 175 against the Pune Warriors.

“I told Chris, go there, perform. He set world records. He wrote his chequebook. He wrote his own like. He never looked back after that. He got a multi-million dollar contract. He went and performed, and it was the hunger in him that made him do it,” Modi concluded.

Gayle has been one of the most prolific overseas batters in IPL history, despite not having lifted the trophy. He has scored 4965 runs in 142 matches, scoring six centuries and winning two Orange Caps.