Gayle missed at Sabina Park but still lording it
KINGSTON: If there is one batsman who could have boosted West Indies against India in this Test series, it would be Chris Gayle. But a prolonged feud with the West Indies Cricket Board has seen most seniors playing only the shorter formats. But a cricket match in his hometown not featuring Gayle is unthinkable for the locals. “They are missing him. The man has got two triple centuries after all,” said a waiter at the Kingston Cricket Club overlooking Sabina Park.
He was here though, a week ago, playing for Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League. “He came down here and checked if everything was fine,” said an employee at the Triple Century Sports Bar, Gayle’s recent venture in the New Kingston area.
The bar is an extension of Gayle’s image as a party animal. It has won him many fans on the social network but also earned media criticism for crossing the line of decency. But the line is blurred. Women love that they can party at a place that is open till 2am on weekends. Booze flows freely, there is live music, and with time the dance gets more intimate.
The party follows Gayle everywhere, be it at his sports bar or the terrace of his palatial mansion atop Chancery Hall. House Cricket, especially the T20 leagues, have given Chris Gayle fame and riches... No 8 on Victory Road is all swag and flamboyant, complete with an entertainment area with stripper poles and a rooftop pool where neighbours often see Gayle party with women. However, they don’t want to talk to foreign journalists, especially after the media recently criticised his behaviour with a woman journalist while being interviewed. His rags to riches story has to be seen to be believed. His three-storied mansion, with the view stretching from the Kingston port to the faraway Blue Mountains, can make anyone feel on top of the world. As one took the winding road up the Red Hills area in search of Gayle’s abode, the cab driver informed that even a decade ago the place was just a rock. “Now you want to buy a piece of land here, you at least need 10 million. You got to be rich maan, extremely rich.”
THE MARLEY SPIRIT
The slightest hope of talking to his family members is quashed after a request is sent inside the house that someone from India wants to ask about Gayle. The next door neighbour rushes back to his room. Even the floor manager, like the female attendants at Gayle’s bar, didn’t want to speak. “He is a great boss, that’s all I can say,” said one.
Most don’t see anything wrong with Gayle’s image. “He struggled his way up, is rich, famous. Girls obviously want to be with him,” said a young woman, a regular at Gayle’s bar.
Still, Jamaica would have loved to see Gayle in Tests. Had he played, this Test could have been an interesting tussle with his IPL teammate Virat Kohli. Brothers in arms in the IPL, would they have played hard and partied harder?