“If I could get the chance to get 400, I would get it, that doesn’t happen often” - Chris Gayle on Wiaan Mulder’s 367* declaration

Former West Indies opening batter Chris Gayle has stated that Wiaan Mulder shouldn’t have declared the innings while being on an unbeaten 367 runs. Notably, Mulder, who was captaining the South African side against Zimbabwe in the second Test, declared the innings while being 33 runs short of the historic 400-run milestone.

While many lauded the decision, it didn’t go down well with the Caribbean giant Gayle, as he expressed disappointment with Mulder’s decision and questioned why a batter would walk away from such a record.

“If I could get the chance to get 400, I would get 400. That doesn’t happen often. You don’t know when you’re going to get to a triple century again. Any time you get a chance like that, you try and make the best out of it. But he was so generous and said he wanted the record to stay with Brian Lara. Maybe he panicked; he didn’t know what to do in that situation. Like I said, he panicked and he blundered, straight up,” Gayle said in a radio show.

“Come on, you’re on 367; automatically, you have to take a chance at the record. If you want to be a legend, how are you going to become a legend? Records come with being a legend. I think it was an error from his side, not to try and go to get it. But listen, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get 400 runs in a Test match. Come on, youngster, you’ve blown it big time!” he added.

Mulder, who explained his declaration decision later on the day, stated that he wanted to leave the record for the legendary Brian Lara, as that would be the right decision at that moment. He decided after consulting the head coach, Shukri Conrad.

“Firstly, I thought we had enough and we needed to bowl. Secondly, Brian Lara is a legend. For someone of that stature to keep that record is deserved. If I get the chance to do it again, I’d do it exactly the same way. I spoke to Shuks (Shukri Conrad) and he felt the same way. Brian Lara is a legend, and he deserves to keep that record,” said Mulder.

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