Chris Gayle has opted out of the forthcoming CPL 2022 and will instead turn his focus to '6ixty', a T10 tournament that will run from August 24 to 28 in St Kitts, immediately before the CPL season.
Gayle will act as an ambassador for the 6ixty and West Indies players will be available after their ODI series against New Zealand, which finishes on August 21. Some overseas players are also expected to arrive early to play in the tournament, though a clash with the end of the Hundred's group stages will rule some out.
"I am going for the shorter format this year," Gayle said in a media statement. "I am genuinely excited about the current innovations in the 6ixty and seeing how they play out. In particular I am looking forward to the mystery team ball and hitting two sixes in the first 12 balls to unlock a third powerplay over."
Gayle had turned out for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots last year and won the title with them. However, he had missed CPL 2020 for personal reasons.
Gayle, 42, has hit 2519 runs in the CPL at an average of 36.50 and strike rate of 133.13. Only Lendl Simmons (2629) has more runs than Gayle in the league. Gayle's last competitive game was for Fortune Barishal in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in February earlier this year.