ipl-2017

Updated: Apr 18, 2017 23:26 IST

Chris Gayle, the brutal and entertaining Jamaican hard-hitter, is now in an elite club of his own – one for those with 10,000 T20 runs. (GL vs RCB: T20 MATCH BLOG)

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB’s) Gayle became the first entrant of the exclusive club as he reached 3 against the Gujarat Lions in their 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Tuesday. He went on to score a 38-ball 77, with the help of seven sixes and five fours. (GL vs RCB: T20 SCORECARD)

Before the start of the 2017 IPL, Gayle needed 63 runs to reach the 10,000 milestone. He scored 32, 6, 22 in the three matches he played prior to Tuesdays fixture. He was also dropped from two matches, which delayed the milestone.

Read | I am Chris Gayle, king of T20, says RCB’s six machine

Gayle might end up being the only one in the 10,000 club in T20s for a long time. No other batsman has crossed 8,000 runs in T20s with the second highest run-scorer after Gayle being Brendon McCullum (7596). Brad Hodge has 7338 runs to his name while David Warner has 7156 runs.

Gayle also became the first player to score more than 10,000 runs in three levels -- first-class, list-A and T20s. And with Gayle’s feat, India added to its reputation of providing the perfect stage for entering the 10,000 clubs.

It was at Indore that Sachin Tendulkar became the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs in One-Day Internationals in 2001. Also, Sunil Gavaskar became the first person to score 10,000 Test runs in Ahmedabad against Pakistan in 1987.

Read | Another mishit: Chris Gayle brags about his ‘big bat’ to female journalist

The T20 league hero

While both Gavaskar’s and Tendulkar’s landmarks were made in an international match, Gayle’s record came up during the IPL, a franchise-based league. That, more-or-less sums up the lefthander’s career.

The 37-year-old Gayle, one of the most destructive limited-overs batsmen, has not been part of the West Indies national side since 2016.

Gayle last played an ODI for the West Indies during the 2015 World Cup, and last featured in a T20 International during the 2016 World T20.

Read | Why are you in hospital? Virender Sehwag asks Chris Gayle

His sour relationship with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has meant that international cricket has been robbed of an exciting talent.

Gayle, though, seems unbothered with the happenings on that front. He might not even have the time to delve into such issues as he is busy travelling the world to play in various leagues. Till early March, he was playing for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.

He has also been part of Australia’s Big Bash League, the Bangladesh Premier League, the Caribbean Premier League and even the Sri Lanka Premier League and is also set to feature in the inaugural #T20 Global Destination League, where he is an icon player.

In a world that’s concerned about the influence of T20 leagues on young cricketers, Gayle is a premier example of being an out-and-out darling of the franchises. He never leaves the T20 leagues the middle to serve the national team, and is always entertaining.

Controversial star

As much as he is loved for his entertaining ways -- which includes hitting sixes and fours at will on field as well as doing the ‘Champion’ or ‘Gangnam style’ dance -- Gayle has often got in trouble because of it because of his flamboyance.

Whether it’s asking out an Australian journalist, Mel McLaughlin, for a drink on live television, or setting up a pole dance bar at his home, Gayle has often come under criticism for his ultra-flamboyant ways.

But all that fades from public memory, once the Jamaican comes to his elements on the field. And Gayle has never disappointed his fans.

Gayle has five centuries to his name in the IPL. He has scored a 30-ball century in the IPL and a 12-ball half-century in Big Bash League. And now, he is the first to score 10,000 T20 runs.

One thing is for sure, when there is Gayle around, good or bad, there can never be a dull moment.

However, ahead of the match against GL, Gayle did not score a half-century in the last 10 innings. His highest score was for Karachi Kings – 44.

There has been growing murmurs about his inconsistency. But then, for a man who deals in sixers, all it took was one fiery innings to regain his title as the tormentor-in-chief of bowlers!