Chris Gayle, the brutal and entertaining Jamaican hard-hitter, is now in an elit

e club of his own one for those with 10,000 T20 runs. (GL vs RCB: T20 MATCH BLOG)
Royal Challengers Bangalores (RCBs) Gayle became the first entrant of the exclusiv
e club as he reached 3 against the Gujarat Lions in their 2017 Indian Premier Le
ague (IPL) match on Tuesday. He went on to score a 38-ball 77, with the help of
seven sixes and five fours. (GL vs RCB: T20 SCORECARD)
Before the start of the 2017 IPL, Gayle needed 63 runs to reach the 10,000 miles
tone. He scored 32, 6, 22 in the three matches he played prior to Tuesdays fixtu
re. He was also dropped from two matches, which delayed the milestone.
Read | I am Chris Gayle, king of T20, says RCBs six machine
Gayle might end up being the only one in the 10,000 club in T20s for a long time
. No other batsman has crossed 8,000 runs in T20s with the second highest run-sc
orer after Gayle being Brendon McCullum (7596). Brad Hodge has 7338 runs to his
name while David Warner has 7156 runs.
Gayle also became the first player to score more than 10,000 runs in three level
s -- first-class, list-A and T20s. And with Gayles feat, India added to its reput
ation of providing the perfect stage for entering the 10,000 clubs.
It was at Indore that Sachin Tendulkar became the first cricketer to score 10,00
0 runs in One-Day Internationals in 2001. Also, Sunil Gavaskar became the first
person to score 10,000 Test runs in Ahmedabad against Pakistan in 1987.
Read | Another mishit: Chris Gayle brags about his big bat to female journalist
The T20 league hero
While both Gavaskars and Tendulkars landmarks were made in an international match,
Gayles record came up during the IPL, a franchise-based league. That, more-or-le
ss sums up the lefthanders career.
The 37-year-old Gayle, one of the most destructive limited-overs batsmen, has no
t been part of the West Indies national side since 2016.
Gayle last played an ODI for the West Indies during the 2015 World Cup, and last
featured in a T20 International during the 2016 World T20.
Read | Why are you in hospital? Virender Sehwag asks Chris Gayle
His sour relationship with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has meant that i
nternational cricket has been robbed of an exciting talent.
Gayle, though, seems unbothered with the happenings on that front. He might not
even have the time to delve into such issues as he is busy travelling the world
to play in various leagues. Till early March, he was playing for Karachi Kings i
n the Pakistan Super League.
He has also been part of Australias Big Bash League, the Bangladesh Premier Leagu
e, the Caribbean Premier League and even the Sri Lanka Premier League and is als
o set to feature in the inaugural #T20 Global Destination League, where he is an
icon player.
In a world thats concerned about the influence of T20 leagues on young cricketers
, Gayle is a premier example of being an out-and-out darling of the franchises.
He never leaves the T20 leagues the middle to serve the national team, and is al
ways entertaining.
Controversial star
As much as he is loved for his entertaining ways -- which includes hitting sixes
and fours at will on field as well as doing the Champion or Gangnam style dance --
Gayle has often got in trouble because of it because of his flamboyance.
Whether its asking out an Australian journalist, Mel McLaughlin, for a drink on l
ive television, or setting up a pole dance bar at his home, Gayle has often come
under criticism for his ultra-flamboyant ways.
But all that fades from public memory, once the Jamaican comes to his elements o
n the field. And Gayle has never disappointed his fans.
Gayle has five centuries to his name in the IPL. He has scored a 30-ball century
in the IPL and a 12-ball half-century in Big Bash League. And now, he is the fi
rst to score 10,000 T20 runs.
One thing is for sure, when there is Gayle around, good or bad, there can never
be a dull moment.
However, ahead of the match against GL, Gayle did not score a half-century in th
e last 10 innings. His highest score was for Karachi Kings 44.
There has been growing murmurs about his inconsistency. But then, for a man who
deals in sixers, all it took was one fiery innings to regain his title as the to
rmentor-in-chief of bowlers!
(courtesy: Cricinfo)