IPL legend Chris Gayle has opened up about the his difficult time with Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He began his journey with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), then he was with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and then he moved to Punjab Kings (PBKS).
In the four seasons played with Punjab, he featured in 41 matches and scored 1,339 runs with an average of 36. But now the West Indies superstar has revealed that he felt disrespected and sidelined which affected his mental health and even dragged him into a period of depression.
“Oh my IPL ended prematurely, you know, with Punjab to be honest with you. Yeah, I mean absolutely, I mean I was disrespected in the franchise, Punjab Kings XI. You know, I felt like I wasn’t being treated properly for a senior guy done so much for the league, you know, bring so much value to the franchise as well. And then you’re being disrespected and they treat you like a kid, you know, and then pretty much I’m just like I felt like the building was on my shoulder. That’s the first time in my life I ever felt like a depression mode. So when people speak about depression, I can get a little sense of that and it wasn’t for me,” Gayle said in a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra.
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“So I know we talking about it’s our job working but at that stage money at that stage nothing. You don’t need money right there, your mental health is more important than money. I called Anil (Anil Kumble). I had a one-on-one discussion and said listen, I’m leaving because at the same time, I had the World Cup, and we were in a bubble, so you couldn’t come out, so your mental space was just going, it was just really, really puzzling and destroying you. I was destroyed inside and after the last game I played against Mumbai I’m like, ‘Yo, it doesn’t make sense. I’m going to do myself more damage rather than be at peace,’” he added.
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“So I called him and had a one-on-one talk to him, you know, actually breakdown as well, literally a breakdown when I was talking to him because I was really hurt. Oh yeah I cried and I was disappointed with Anil and how the entire thing was actually run, the franchise was actually run at that time and I said listen man thank you. KL Rahul was the captain, he called me and said, “Yo Chris, you know, you want to stay, you’ll play the next game.” And I said listen to me man I wish you guys all the very best. I just packed my bag and I walked out,” he concluded.
