IPL 2016: Chris Gayle set to become father, to miss 2 IPL games
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s explosive batsman Chris Gayle is set to miss two Indian Premier League (IPL) matches due to the birth of his child. He will be reuniting with his partner Natasha Berridge, as the couple expect their first child.
The left-handed batsman will miss RCB’s next matches against the Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on 20 April and the Rising Pune Supergiants on 22 April in Pune. He is expected to rejoin the RCB squad on 25 April.
The southpaw is yet to star in this year’s edition of the IPL as he failed to punish the opposition bowlers in RCB’s previous two matches. In the first match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he failed to make any impact on the game as he was out for one. In the second match against Delhi Daredevils, he was sent back to the pavilion for a duck.
RCB fans will hope that the birth of his child will change his fortunes in their quest for the maiden IPL title. He is one of the major players in the star-studded RCB batting line-up and he needs to fire quickly for the Virat Kohli-led side.
The 36-year-old cricketer is the fifth highest run-scorer in IPL history. He has scored 3200 runs in 84 IPL matches at an average of 45.07 and with a strike-rate of 152.96. He is also the leading century getter in the cash-rich T20 league with five centuries. He also has 18 half-centuries to his name.
It has been a superb year for the Jamaican, he was the part of the victorious West Indies team which won the World T20 title for the record second time earlier this month.
I'm on my way, Baby.