Gayle has played 85 matches for the Bangalore-based franchise and was an integral part of the team from the year 2011 to 2017. He scored 3163 runs for the RCB, including five centuries. The left-handed batter was also part of the 2016 IPL final that RCB played against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) but couldn’t guide his team to a title and unfortunately ended up on the losing side.
The question of RCB’s title drought despite them having players like Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers has always been a burning issue among fans and cricket experts. On being asked about the same in a discussion on Jio Cinema, Gayle shed light on his former team’s inability to lift the championship and said that only three players in the RCB squad got all the attention, and every other player was left out.
“Sometimes, being one of the main players, being the main man of the franchise, I am always in my zone, pretty much. What I understand about the RCB point of view is that many players felt left out. A lot of players did not feel like they were a part of the franchise,” said Gayle.
“It was like only three players getting all the attention – myself, Virat and AB. A lot of players, pretty much mentally, they were nowhere within the team. So that’s always going to be a challenge to win a title,” he added.
Notably, the RCB management had stated on Monday (March 18) that they would retire the jerseys worn by Gayle and de Villiers as a mark of respect.
“Jersey numbers 17 and 333 will be retired forever as a tribute to @ABdeVilliers17 and @henrygayle, when we induct the legends of RCB into the Hall of Fame,” RCB said in a tweet.
In the IPL 2023, Faf du Plessis’ RCB will start their campaign against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 2.
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