Christopher Henry Gayle, OD (born September 21, 1979) is a Jamaican cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies. Gayle was the captain of the West Indies Test Team from 2007 to 2010. Gayle has set numerous records in all three of the game's formats. He is best known for revolutionizing the game by inspiring teams to regularly beat sixes in white ball cricket. He is the West Indies highest cap player in international cricket and is the only player to have scored a triplet of centuries - a triple hundred in Tests, double hundred in ODIs, and a hundred in T20Is. Gayle is the first batsman to hit 1000 sixes in T20 cricket.

In February 2019, Gayle announced that he would be retiring from ODIs after the 2019 World Cricket Championship. However, in June 2019, during the World Cricket Championship, Gayle expressed his desire to take part in the ODI games against India in August and possibly a friendly as well. Gayle last played in a friendly against Bangladesh in September 2014.

In July 2019, he was named to the West Indies ODI squad for their series against India. During the series against India, Gayle played in his 300th ODI, which includes five games for the ICC World XI team. In the same match, Gayle also became the leading run scorer for a West Indies batsman in ODI cricket. He surpassed Brian Lara's record of 10,348 runs. Gayle wore a special 301 shirt number for his last ODI against India when he played his 301st ODI. In December 2020, Gayle was inducted into the ICC T20I Team of the Decade.

International career

Gayle played for the West Indies internationally before making his first-rate debut for Jamaica in 1998 at the age of 19. He played his first One Day International eleven months later in 1999 and his first friendly six months later. Normally who opens the innings when playing for the West Indies, Gayle is a destructive batsman who plays square of the wicket most effectively. In July 2001, Gayle, 175, and Daren Ganga, 89, set the record for opening partnerships at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, when they put together a 214 against Zimbabwe.

Gayle made the first century in Twenty20 international cricket, scoring 117 against South Africa in the 2007 World Twenty20 first game. The innings made him the first batsman to score a century in each of the three formats of international cricket. This was the record value in a T20I until February 19, 2012, when the South African Richard Levi 117 n.o. scored. against New Zealand, and was eventually outdone by New Zealand's Brendon McCullum later that year.

In February 2015, Gayle became the fourth cricketer to achieve a double century in ODIs and the first in World Cup history when he scored 215 during a pool game against Zimbabwe at the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup in Canberra. His partnership with Marlon Samuels was the most productive wicket in Cricket World Cup history, producing 372 runs before Gayle was caught for an out on the last ball of the inning.

Twenty20 cricket

On July 1, 2009, Gayle signed with the Western Australia Warriors for the Australian Domestic Twenty20 tournament known as the Big Bash for the 2009-10 season.

Playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Gayle hit a 30-ball century that became the highest individual T20 score (175 not out). It surpassed the previous brand from Brendon McCullum of Kolkata Knight Riders.

In May 2018, Gayle was named as one of the ten marquee players for the first edition of the Global T20 Canada cricket tournament The competition. In September 2018, he was named the icon player for Balkh's squad in the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament. The following month he was named to the Jozi Stars squad for the first edition of the Mzansi Super League T20 tournament. In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Vancouver Knights franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament. In September 2019, he was appointed to the Jozi Stars team for the 2019 Mzansi Super League tournament. In October 2020 he was drafted by the Kandy Tuskers for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League.