'Wasn't treated properly': Chris Gayle hits out at IPL

Chris Gayle has taken a dig at the Indian Premier League while revealing the reasons behind the decision not to enter the mega auction ahead of the 2022 tournament.

The West Indian opener was a notable absentee when players went under the hammer in February.

He cut short-his participation in the last tournament due to bubble fatigue.

The 42-year-old revealed he felt disrespected during his various spells in the competition - though he has refrained from going into full detail - leading to him not submitting himself for the auction.

"For the last couple of years, the way the IPL went about, I felt like I wasn’t treated properly," Gayle told The Mirror.

"So I thought ‘okay, you (Gayle) didn’t get the respect you deserved after you did so much for the sport and IPL.’

"So I said ‘okay, that’s it, I’m not going to bother to enter the draft,’ so I left it as it is."

David Warner and AB de Villiers are the only overseas players with more than Gayle's 4,965 runs in the competition - which sees him seventh on the all-time list.

Gayle's heroics came across spells at Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings, who released him at the end of the 2021 edition.