Indian Premier League - IPL 
/ Frank Gregan / 05 March 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Chris Gayle is a hired gun these days, pictured here playing in the Australian T20 competition, the Big Bash.
"The winners in all this will be the Bangalore Royal Challengers who have now secured the services of the big hitting bat-for-hire on a permanent basis."
Despite a few issues concerning Yuvraj Singh's replacement as skipper of Pune, the IPL field has been finalised. Chris Gayle is back for the Royal Challengers Bangalore but a return to international cricket for him still seems unlikley at the moment.
There's a month to go before the Indian Premier League gets underway and for a tournament that enjoys every bell and whistle that it can lay it's hand on, the build up to IPL5 has been very subdued. It's been a political affair dominated by the dispute between Sahara India and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Sahara India are the owners of the Pune franchise and a major sponsor of Indian cricket but it looked as if they were about to walk away from the sport.
The spat now appears to be done and dusted with Pune's inclusion in IPL5. The row centred around the replacement of their skipper Yuvraj Singh, who is having treatment in the US for a lung tumour. But the issue has now been resolved and Sahara has re-established itself as Team India's sponsor. Pune's inclusion means that nine teams will compete in IPL5 over an eight week period which makes one heck of a dent in the world cricketing calendar.
During IPL5, there are a number of international series including Australia touring the West Indies and at the back end of the tournament the West Indies being hosted by England. Three of the West Indian stars - Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle are already lined up for IPL5 - and have been joined by Marlon Samuels, who has recently signed for Pune.
It looks set to come down to the old chestnut of club (or franchise in this case) V country. The WICB does have control, No Objection Certificates are required for participation. But a bit like a bar tab at the local, refusal often offends and after the Chris Gayle fiasco the board will be eager to keep their stars sweet whilst still fielding a competitive international team. Compromise looks like being the buzz word that will be filling their press releases as they try to avoid more bitter arguments.
The ruck between Gayle and the WICB has dragged on and on and looks no nearer to a conclusion than it did a year ago. He has been left out of the 30 man squad which will take part in a fitness and training camp in Barbados before the arrival of the Australians.
It now seems so long it's easy to forget what started it all. It was a radio interview that Gayle gave after another disappointing World Cup campaign, which he used to let rip at both the WICB and coach Ottis Gibson. The WICB have made it quite clear that all Chris has to do is apologise for his remarks and the slate will be clean, but so far he has refused to do so.
The winners in all this will be the Bangalore Royal Challengers who have now secured the services of the big hitting bat-for-hire on a permanent basis. Gayle, along with the Sri Lankan pace bowler Lasith Malinga, were the stars of last year's event and if the big West Indian shines again then his franchise could win their first IPL title.
The Chargers have reached two of the four previous finals and at odds of [7.0] to win the tournament look set to give their followers a run for their money. Chennai Super Kings who are aiming to secure their third successive title head the field at [4.6] closely followed by the Delhi Daredevils (who have yet to reach a final) at [6.9].
Chris Gayle's mind today is likely to be focussed on something other than cricket. The passing of his friend, former West Indian batsman Runako Morton, should serve as a reminder to him that life's too short for petty squabbles. If Gayle wants to chase the buck rather than represent his country that's fine but if he wants the best of both worlds then he has to accept he's not bigger than the game and eat a bit of humble pie. International cricket will be better with Chris Gayle on the inside.
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