“That’s the first time in my life I went to depression” - Chris Gayle reveals he was disrespected by Punjab Kings during IPL 2021

Former West Indies batting legend Chris Gayle has broken the silence on the disrespect he received from the Punjab Kings franchise during the IPL 2021 season as the explosive batter left the IPL mid-way.

Speaking exclusively on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Gayle made a startling revelation that he went into depression after being disrespected by the Punjab-based franchise. Notably, Gayle was bought by the PBKS franchise in IPL 2018 and his last season came in 2021.

“My IPL ended prematurely, you know, with Punjab, to be honest with you. Yeah, I mean absolutely, I mean I was disrespected in the franchise, Punjab Kings XI. You know, I felt like I wasn’t being treated properly for a senior guy who’s done so much for the league, you know, brought so much value to the franchise as well. And then you’re being disrespected and they treat you like a kid, you know, and then pretty much I’m just like… I felt like the building was on my shoulder. That’s the first time in my life I ever felt like a depression mode. So when people speak about depression, I can get a little sense of that and it wasn’t for me,” Gayle said in a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra.

While Gayle represented KKR in his first two IPL seasons from 2009 to 2011, he later shifted to the Bengaluru-based franchise in 2011 as a replacement player. He went on to play for the RCB until the IPL 2017 season, scoring 3420 runs in 91 matches for RCB.

He was later picked by the PBKS franchise in 2018 as he went on to feature in 41 games, amassing 1339 runs at an average of 36. While he played eight games in IPL 2021 in India, he could play only two games in UAE leg in the same season before leaving the season mid-way from the bio-bubble.

“So I know we are talking about… it’s our job, working, but at that stage, money at that stage… nothing. You don’t need money right there; your mental health is more important than money. I called Anil (Anil Kumble). I had a one-on-one discussion and said, ‘Listen, I’m leaving because, at the same time, I had the World Cup, and we were in a bubble, so you couldn’t come out, so your mental space was just going, it was just really, really puzzling and destroying you.’ I was destroyed inside and after the last game I played against Mumbai I’m like, ‘Yo, it doesn’t make sense. I’m going to do myself more damage rather than be at peace,’” Gayle further said.

Gayle, who didn’t feature in an IPL game since the 2021 season, also disclosed that he told Anil Kumble, who was the head coach of the franchise, that he was disappointed with him and the franchise.

“So I called him and had a one-on-one talk with him, you know, actually broke down as well, literally a breakdown when I was talking to him because I was really hurt. Oh yeah, I cried and I was disappointed with Anil and how the entire thing was actually run, the franchise was actually run at that time, and I said, ‘Listen man, thank you.’ KL Rahul was the captain; he called me and said, ‘Yo Chris, you know, you want to stay, you’ll play the next game.’ And I said, ‘Listen to me, man, I wish you guys all the very best.’ I just packed my bag and I walked out,” Gayle concluded.

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