CHRIS GAYLE, the hard-hitting Jamaican superstar, has been nominated for one of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) Awards of the Decade.
The 41-year-old, who was a powerhouse performer for the West Indies from 1999 until last year, is among the hopefuls to lift the ICC Men’s Twenty20 International (T20I) Cricketer of the Decade crown.
Gayle, the self-titled ‘Universe Boss’ on social media platform Twitter, has been recognised by the ICC for his outstanding performances in the T20I competition from the start of 2011 until October 7 this year. These awards are a special edition of the ICC’s annual prizes.
During the past decade Gayle was a victorious member of the West Indies side that captured the ICC T20 World Cup on twice, in Sri Lanka (2012) in India (2016).
Gayle’s rivals for the prize are Aaron Finch (Australia), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Virat Kohli (India), Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Rohit Sharma (India) and Imran Tahir (South Africa).
Gayle began his career with Lucas Cricket Club in his home city of Kingston, with their nursery having been named in honour of his tremendous achievements.
Although over the years he has often courted controversy, he skippered the Windies to the semi-finals of the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup in England.
Left-hander Gayle’s no nonsense approach helped him achieve the prestigious honour of becoming the inaugural player to score centuries in all formats of the modern game. To his credit 42 international centuries comprising 15 at Test matches, 25 One Day Internationals (ODIs) but only two at T20I level.
He set up the Chris Gayle Academy in 2015, with the intent on helping disadvantaged children in both Jamaica and the UK to better themselves and their communities through their involvement in sport. The same year, at the ICC World Cup in Australia, Gayle hit the fastest ever ODI double century by amassing 215 off 147 deliveries against Zimbabwe in Canberra.
In the T20I arena, Gayle has notched an average of 32.54 from 58 matches having scored 1,627 runs. During last year’s ODI series against India, Gayle played his 300th ODI match and also surpassed Brian Lara’s record to take the accolade of being the West Indies’ all-time leading run scorer in ODI with 10.480.
And cricket fans can vote, which will make up 10% of the overall voting as an expert panel decides on the remaining 90%. Register at the website of icc-cricket.com/awards, with balloting set to end on December 16.
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