Chris Gayle opts out of CPL 2022 to feature in 6ixty

Chris Gayle will miss the 2022 edition of Caribbean Premier League (CPL) to focus on playing the inaugural season of the T10 tournament 6ixty. 

CPL is scheduled to be played from August 30 to September 30. On the other hand, 6ixty will take place from August 24 to 28 in St. Kitts. 

6ixty will witness six men's franchises and the three women's teams up against each other. The organizers are confident of the interest of the international players due to the tournament’s short window. 

Gayle will act as an ambassador of the tournament, and all the West Indies players are set to be in attendance after the culmination of their bilateral ODI series against New Zealand. 

On June 27 (Monday), the 42-year-old posted a tweet and revealed that the 6ixty trophy will be called as ‘Universe Boss Trophy’, with the initials being his nickname. 

In a media statement, Gayle expressed his excitement to be a part of the innovative T10 league. 

"I am going for the shorter format this year," Gayle said in a media statement. "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 a third powerplay over."

In the last edition of CPL, Gayle had featured for the champion side St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and had contributed 165 runs in nine innings. 

Gayle has amassed a total of 2519 runs in the CPL and is just behind Lendl Simmons (2629 runs). He decided to skip the IPL 2022 and had last featured for Fortune Barishal in the Bangladesh Premier League earlier this year.