30 Little Known Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle, considered as one of the greatest batsmen ever in Twenty20 cricket, is known for his numerous records across all three formats of cricket. He is said to hold numerous records across all three formats of cricket. Here are some facts about the Jamaican professional cricketer:

1.  The self-proclaimed Universal Boss, Chris Gayle is arguably one of the best limited-overs batsman, has announced his retirement in the lead up to his fifth World Cup.
2.  He was born Christopher Henry Gayle on September 21, 1979, in Kingston, Jamaica. Born into lower middle-class family, his mother, Hazel Gayle, sold peanuts to supplement his father, Dudley Gayle’s income as a policeman.
3.  Gayle graduated from Excelsior High School in Jamaica. Not being good academically, he took to cricket as a career and joined Lucas Cricket Club in Kingston, Jamaica.
4.  In his teens his friends used to call him ‘crampy’ due to his laziness. Gayle is highly inspired by his primary school teacher, Mrs. June Hamilton.
5.  In 1998, he made his debut for West Indian Youth International team and scored 141 on the tour of Bangladesh. This led him to be picked by Jamaica for their first-class matches at the age of 19 years.
6.  He made his ODI debut against India on September 11, 1999, at Toronto, Canada. He just faced eight balls and scored one run before being bowled RP Singh. He also got to bowl six overs giving away 37 runs.
7.  Making his debut in a test match against Zimbabwe, in March 2000, at Port of Spain, he didn’t have memorable day with bat, scoring just 33 runs with a golden duck in the second innings. However, he took three wickets for twenty-five runs with his off-break in 15 over.
8.  In his T20 international debut on February 16, 2006, he scored 10 runs of 12 balls before being caught by Nathan Astle of Shane Bond and chipped in with two for twenty-two of four overs. The match was tied before New Zealand won the bowl-out.
9.  Gayle is the first and only batsman to score 10,000 runs in T20 cricket with 12, 808 runs in 384 matches at an average of 39.04. He also has to his credit 21 centuries and 80 fifties.
10.  Playing for around 25 various teams in the T20 format around the world, he has the highest individual score of 175 not out and joint fastest fifty, in 12 deliveries. He has hit the most sixes, 941 and most fours, 987.
11.  During the tour of Australia in November 2005, he sought treatment in the middle of second test, for an irregular heart condition. He underwent heart surgery at the end of the series to correct congenital heart defect.
12.  Gayle became the third West Indian player after Viv Richards and Brian Lara to score 1000 runs in World Cups. He reached this milestone during his 17-ball-21 against Australia on June 6, 2019, at Trend Bridge and has aggregated 1015 runs in 28 matches.
13.  He holds the record of smashing the first century in Twenty20 Internationals. He scored a blistering 57 ball 117 against South Africa in the opening match of the first edition of World Twenty20 in 2007.
14.  He is the first batsman to hit a double-hundred in a World Cup match, when he scored 215 against Zimbabwe on February 24, 2015. In the 147 ball innings he had 16 sixers and 10 fours and formed a 372 runs partnership with Marlon Samuels.
15.  Gayle is one of only four batsmen in the elite company of Don Bradman, Brian Lara, and Virender Sehwag, to have scored two Test triple hundreds.
16.  He also holds a unique record of hitting the first ball of a Test match for a six, when in November 2012, during the first test against Bangladesh in Dhaka, he hit debutant Sohag Gazi, over long-on.
17.  He is the first player to hit all six balls in an over for fours of Test match. He achieved this feat when he hit Mathew Hoggard in a Test match in 2004.
18.  Gayle has to his name a hundred in T20Is, double-hundred in ODIs and a triple-hundred in Tests, for an another unique record.
19.  On December 3, 2018, Gayle won a defamation lawsuit against the Fiarfax Media that published a series of articles alleging Gayle of exposing himself to massage therapist Leanne Russell during a cricket tournament in 2016. He was awarded $300,000 as compensation.
20.  In the year 2016, during a course of an interview in the midst of Big Bash League, he propositioned to an Australian Sports Presenter, Mel McLaughlin and asked her out to drink after the match. He also said ‘Don’t blush baby.’ The statement caused huge controversy and though he apologized later, a fine of $100,000 was imposed on him.
21.  In the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy held in India, Gayle was awarded Player of the Series. He was the top run getter in the tournament with 474 runs, including three centuries and bagged four Man of the Match award. He also took eight wickets.
22.  Gayle became the first international player to carry his bat through the entire innings in the Twenty20 format. He achieved this in the semi-finals of 2009 World Twenty20 against Sri Lanka, when he scored 63 not out. He also set new T20 international record of scoring 62.38 percent of team total.
23.  In the 2011 Indian Premier League, Gayle was named the Man of the Tournament for scoring 608 runs with bat and taking 8 wickets with ball. He also scored 37runs in one over against Kochi Tuskers Kerala, which included 3 sixers, 3 fours and a six of no ball. He went on to win the Orange Cap for scoring most runs in the tournament.
24.  In the 2013 Indian Premier League, he set a highest individual score of 175 not out in a T20 match and scored a fastest century in just 30 balls. He also has to his credit of scoring the most sixes in a single innings in the IPL.
25.  On March 25, 2019, Gayle broke David Warner’s record to become the fastest player to reach 4000 runs in the Indian Premier League. Playing for Kings XI Punjab, he reached the milestone in 112th innings and 113th match. He also has most hundred in the IPL, with 6.
26.  On January 18, 2016, in the match against Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, he set the fastest fifty record and equaled the world record when scored 51 of 12 deliveries with seven sixes.
27.  Gayle is in relationship with Natasha Berridge, who he had known for over ten years. They are blessed with a baby girl on April 20, 2016 and named her Crisalina.
28.  On September 9, 2016, he launched his autobiography ‘Six Machine- I don’t like cricket, I love it.’
29.  During the tour of England in 2009, he commented that he did not want to captain the West Indies any more given the pressures involved and that he ‘wouldn’t be sad’ if test cricket was superseded by T20 cricket in the future. He was criticized for his comment.
30.  In 2015 Gayle set up ’The Chris Gayle Academy’ with the intent on helping disadvantaged children in both Jamaica and The United Kingdom.
31.  Chris Gayle Net Worth: $25 Million