The IPL parties are missing, don't know why: Chris Gayle

The big Jamaican Chris Gayle is in India for the USL Diageo road safety campaign. In the free time, the West Indies batsman took some time out to speak about cricket. In a conversation with the Hindustan Times, Gayle spoke at length about how he keeps himself fit and had a word on his RCB teammate Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli plundered his third double ton of the year.

Just like everybody else, Chris Gayle was mighty pleased with the effort. He said that he always knew that Kohli will elevate to such high standards. “He was always elevated as Superman. I have said it before, these things are just showing up now. I am sure there are many more (knocks) to come from Virat. He will do so much things… (it will be) unbelievable. I hope the youngsters can follow in his footsteps,” he quoted.

Gayle will not be featuring in this edition of the Big Bash League that commences in a week. The southpaw reasoned that it will be his daughter’s first Christmas and hence he wants to stay with his family. “This is her (daughter Blush) first Christmas. I never got a chance to be home on Christmas or New Year. I want to make this one count. It is hard to leave her after spending some time. I will hug her and kiss her and play around. Inshallah I will reach home safely. I will be in Australia during the New Year for some work. I will play in the other editions (of Big Bash), Inshallah,” mentioned Chris Gayle.

Gayle is a party animal and it is a known fact to the cricket lovers. However, despite staying at parties all night long, the hard-hitting batsman manages to stay fit for the matches. Giving a peek into his mindset, Gayle cited sleep to be the most important aspect of an athlete’s schedule. “Most people don’t know that rest is very important. I sleep all day. So when they see me in the night, I have already got my rest. If I am not playing, I will do my training. We are the West Indies team, we always sleep off before a party. You have to look after your body. You can’t just be playing cricket and party,” he quoted.

Talk about the cricket parties and the name of IPL springs up. Chris Gayle, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, said that he sleeps at 6 am when he is playing in the IPL. However, he looked visibly upset at the fact that there are no after match parties in IPL now.

“If I am in the IPL, I go to bed at 6am. I wake up like 3.30 or 4pm. I practice at a particular time and then stay up all night. We have a gathering after the match and have a drink together. These days there is no party in the IPL which I don’t know why. I watch TV until I feel sleepy,” said the burly opener.

“They need to start the after party. That is the only thing missing. But it is still very interesting… the cheerleaders and entertainment. I think for security reasons they have clamped down on the parties. It is two months of hard work. It is not easy. They are paying big bucks and they need performances. But they need to free up the party a bit more, maan!” he conceded further.

The ICC is considering to regulate the rules on size of the cricket bat and its thickness. Gayle was blunt in saying that it does not matter. “It doesn’t matter. Give me a toothpick, a knife or a fork, I will still hit sixes. Size doesn’t matter. Trust me, it is all about the weapon. They can cut down my size, but they can’t cut down my sixes,” he quipped.