Ahead of Friday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) mini auction, former West Indies captain Chris Gayle believes that Mayank Agarwal is ‘probably hurt’ to have not been retained by Punjab Kings.
Mayank, captain of Punjab Kings in the last IPL edition, was released by the franchise last month after yet another dismal show by the team. The franchise overhauled its entire coaching staff - bringing in Trevor Bayliss as the head coach in place of Anil Kumble
Having played with Mayank in the past, Gayle is confident that the batter will attract bidders when the ten franchises hit the auction table in Kochi on Friday.
“Mayank will definitely go big. If anybody doesn’t pick him, I will be very disappointed because he is sort of an explosive player. I know he is probably hurt that he has not been retained by Punjab Kings after what he has sacrificed for the franchise and to be treated like that, that’s disappointing,” Gayle said on Thursday.
In the last edition of the IPL, Mayank could score only 196 runs in 13 outings, while his team finished sixth in the points table. But Gayle, who is part of JioCinema’s expert panel for the IPL auction, believes that the franchises will still go for Mayank despite a disappointing outing last season.
Having been part of the Punjab Kings set-up for years, Gayle believes that lack of consistency has hurt the team.
“Punjab chops and change, and it’s ridiculous. You keep chopping and changing, and you never have a set eleven, whether you win a match. Sometimes they will go with the same team, but so often players don’t feel comfortable as they are being told all the time that you have to deliver when you get a chance,” Gayle said.
“IPL is always pressure, so if you put themselves more on this excessive pressure, they won’t flourish in their game. They (the team) need to look at that and say, ‘hey, whatever happens, we will stick to you guys for the first six games’,” Gayle said, making it clear that the franchise needs to back its players through thick and thin.
‘You are gonna miss the Caribbean boys’
When the IPL begins in April this year, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard will not be in action, even though they will be present in the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians dugouts respectively as coaches. But Gayle knows that the IPL will miss both Bravo and Pollard on the field.
“IPL will definitely miss the likes of Pollard and Bravo on the field. Those two guys made IPL what it is today. We have to recognise them and they have won so many titles for their franchises. It is going to leave a gap in the IPL, no doubt. It will leave a little dent in the IPL…” he said, adding: “You are gonna miss the Caribbean boys…”
Talking about his playing future, Gayle jokingly said, “Still fresh, still good looking, best body in the world… my playing future always looks bright until I am 50 years old.”
“Playing wise, I would still like to play in a few more tournaments in the next year, but I am pretty much on break, enjoying life, doing more ambassador work. It has been good. You guys still want to see me on the field, but time will tell. Will take it as it comes,” he added.
While he is confident that the West Indies players like Jason Holder will fetch big money in the auction, he agrees that the franchises will be going all out to bring Ben Stokes on board as he brings “a lot to the table, regardless of a captain’s point of view…
Mayank goes to Hyderabad
Mayank Agarwal was bought for Rs 8.25 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL Auction on Friday.
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