Gayle targets 55 sixes in next four games

Chittagong Vikings's trump card has arrived in Dhaka and he will be raring to go tonight when Tamim Iqbal's men take on an in-form Rangpur Riders at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Like almost every other T20 league in the world, West Indian legend Chris Gayle has dominated the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) since its inception.

On the whole, he has played ten matches in the BPL and boasts a batting average of 77.28, the highest among all players. In fact, the second highest, Imran Nazir's 43.33 in 11 games, is quite some distance away.

There have been a total of nine centuries in the BPL and the 'Universe boss' -- a moniker he uses to describe himself -- has scored three of those. It is not a surprise that he has scored 9,668 T20 runs at an average of 42. His closest competitor, Brad Hodge, has 7,052 runs and will never reach him.

Gayle is in Bangladesh to play just four matches, but with his six-hitting ability, there will not be any surprises if he breaks the 10,000-mark here.

When informed of the impending record, Gayle remarked: “You should have told me earlier. I would have come at the start of the tournament. It will be nice to be the first person to get 10,000 runs. I want the team to qualify so that I get a chance in the playoffs, and not just get knocked out after these four games. The finals are the most important,” said Gayle.

When reminded of his six-hitting statistic, he provided a flamboyant reply -- to no one's surprise.

“I have hit 50 sixes in ten innings? I will see if I can hit 55 in four innings. It is what I am known for, the Six Machine. I try to entertain as much as possible. Hopefully it will be a good wicket tomorrow so I'm looking forward to it,” said Gayle.

“My objective is not to worry about the stats but to try to entertain the people as much as possible. I haven't played cricket for four to five months since the Caribbean Premier League so it is good to be back in the game. Tomorrow is a chance for them to get glued to the TV not only locally but overseas as well. Chris Gayle is back, and hopefully I will get off to a good start. It will be good to open the batting with Tamim as well,” he added.

The Vikings will be the 19th T20 outfit Gayle will be representing in his career and he hopes he can make a good impact. He had been following the Vikings on television and he thinks they have the momentum with them right now.

“I am looking forward to representing Chittagong Vikings. They were in fourth position last time I checked. They gained some momentum after losing a couple of games and it is good to join a team with momentum. Hopefully I can get a winning start as I return to the BPL.

“I did watch few of the games back home in Jamaica. I followed their scores for sure and from to time looked at the other teams to get accustomed and try to see what's going on in Bangladesh,” concluded Gayle.