The veteran West Indies opener Chris Gayle has finally made a comeback in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2021). The Universe Boss has joined one of his old teams, St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots after missing the last season.
The 2021 edition of CPL will kickstart from August 28 with the final to take place on September 19. The entire T20 League will be hosted at the Warner Park in St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Chris Gayle sparked controversy by not participating in the previous edition of the tournament. Before the 2020 season, Gayle made an acrimonious exit from Jamaica Tallawahs and publicly blamed head coach Ramnaresh Sarwan for it.
Chris Gayle to play St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
The southpaw was scheduled to play for St Lucia Zouks but just a day before CPL 2020 draft, he pulled out from the tournament citing personal reasons. Gayle started his run in CPL with his home franchise Jamaica Tallawahs. The left-hander was there with the team from 2013 to 2016 and helped them win two titles.
GAYLE STORM WARNING!!! Watch out Warner Park as the UNIVERSE BOSS @henrygayle returns to the @sknpatriots for CPL 2021. #CPL21 #CPLDraft #ChrisGayle #CricketPlayedLouder pic.twitter.com/QE6sNblNOK
— CPL T20 (@CPL) May 27, 2021
The 41-year-old changed his franchise and joined St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots in 2017. Gayle played for two seasons for them before going back to his home franchise for the 2019 season. The opening batsman is now back with the Patriots and will be hoping for a longer run with them.
On the other hand, St Lucia Zouks have also made a stellar deal by including former South African captain Faf du Plessis to their squad for CPL 2021. This will be the second time that the South African batsman will feature in the Caribbean League. Faf was a part of the Patriots in CPL 2016 when he scored 179 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of less than 100.
The inclusion of the 36-year-old can be a masterstroke for the Zouks as Du Plessis is coming after a brilliant run with the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021.
We have a superstar in the house for @CPL 2021! Welcome @faf1307 ! #ZouksSaChaud #CricketPlayedLouder #CPL21 pic.twitter.com/UlyhUnRywd
— Saint Lucia Kings (@SaintLuciaKings) May 27, 2021
