West Indies batter Chris Gayle opted out of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022, in order to focus on the T10 tournament, '6ixty'.
Chris Gayle has confirmed he will not feature in this season's Caribbean Premier League. The West Indies legend has committed to The 6ixty, the brainchild of the CPL and Cricket West Indies which will act as a tournament opener on St Kitts between August 24 and 28. He is an ambassador for the event.
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Immediately before the CPL season."I am going for the shorter format this year. I am genuinely excited about the current innovations in the 6ixty and seeing how they play out. In particular, I am looking forward to the mystery team ball and hitting two sixes in the first 12 balls to unlock the third powerplay over," said Chris Gayle as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
6ixty will run from August 24 to 28 in Saint Kitts, Gayle has scored a total of 2519 runs in the CPL at an average of 36.50 and a strike rate of 133.13. Only Lendl Simmons (2629) has more runs than Gayle in the league.
The 42-year-old batter will act as an ambassador for the 6ixty and West Indies players will be available after their ODI series against New Zealand, which finishes on August 21. He also missed CPL 2020 due to some personal reasons. Apart from CPL, Gayle had earlier opted out of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 after leaving the 14th edition midway due to bio-bubble fatigue.
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The new tournament features quirky new rules, including the possibility of an extra over of powerplay fielding restrictions if a team hits two sixes in their first 12 balls and the chance for the crowd to vote on when a random free hit will be inserted into an innings.
The six CPL men's teams and three women's teams will take part in the mini-competition. They will be playing for the Universe Boss Trophy, named in honor of Gayle.
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