Gayle signs for St Lucia Zouks

St Lucia Zouks have signed Chris Gayle as their marquee player for the 2020 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament.

Gayle last played for the Jamaica Tallawahs but has also represented St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. He has won the CPL title twice with the Tallawahs and played in the final with the Patriots in 2017.

The Jamaican is the leading all-time T20 run scorer and has the most centuries in the format. He is also the best CPL scorer ever with 2,344 runs in the tournament.

Commenting on Gayle arriving at the Zouks, captain Daren Sammy said: “This is great news for St Lucia Zouks and for me as a captain to have the 'Universe Boss' on my side. Chris is one of the most successful T20 batsmen in the world and with his experience with our young openers, a lot can be learnt from Chris.”

Sammy believes Gayle will be eager to prove his worth once the novel coronavirus is over and the tournament can be staged. “I welcome him to the Zouks franchise. Chris will be in St Lucia and the fans will be happy that Jamaica has released him. I will have a motivated Chris Gayle looking to prove a point that he is one of the leading T20 batsmen in the world. I can’t wait for CPL 2020 and hopefully the coronavirus will be under control and we can have an exciting T20 tournament. Welcome home Chris Gayle!”

The tournament organisers are deliberating a number of options because of the virus, including no overseas players, smaller crowds and the use of less venues. The league is currently scheduled to run from August 19 to September 26.