Team demands action if Gayle fails to show up for BPL

DHAKA: Bangladesh Twenty20 team Chattogram Challengers Thursday called for action against West Indies star Chris Gayle if he fails to show for an upcoming tournament, after he said he was taking a break from cricket.

Gayle was picked by the Challengers to play in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) from December 11. But he said after departing South Africa’s Mzansi Super League on Monday — following a pitiful campaign for Jozi Stars — that he was surprised his name had been included in the squad, adding that he planned to “take a break” from the sport.

“I am not going to the Big Bash (Australia’s T20 league). I’m not sure what cricket will come up, I don’t even know how my name reached the BPL, but I have been drafted in a team and I don’t even know how that happened,” he told ESPNcricinfo.

Challengers team director Jalal Yunus said his team had held negotiations with Gayle’s agent after the former West Indies captain was picked. “His agent confirmed Chris was aware about it,” Yunus said. “Now if he does not come, we will seek a player outside the draft. But I feel (Bangladesh Cricket Board) BCB should take action in such cases to keep discipline.”