Chris Gayle, The 'Zlatan' of the Cricket World
He dances all night in a club and then brings the party on the field. Chris Gayle does things, most don't dare. A journeyman for hire, he can be only compared to the Swedish football star, Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Chris Gayle finally got to a one day international double hundred. About time he did. Gayle is now the only batsman to have scored a triple hundred in Test matches, a double hundred in ODIs and a hundred in T20 Internationals. (Complete World Cup Coverage)
Gayle doesn't score regular size hundreds. He hits them big and en route to them, he destroys records, bowlers and at times, annihilates an entire franchise. He is a sleeping giant who hibernates throughout an entire season and then wakes up one day to ransack an unfortunate opposition. (Have Never Felt so Much Pressure: Gayle)
Gayle is the 'Zlatan' of the cricket world. If anyone in the sporting world deserves to be compared to the temperamental Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, it's Chris Gayle. (Gayle Inspired by Rohit Sharma)
There are several similarities between the two. Both are hired guns - sporting mercenaries, globe-trotting superstars blessed with monster egos. They roam the world, get paid handsomely and deliver memorable performances. Ibrahimovic has donned the colours of seven clubs during his career, while Gayle has been on the roster of 13 teams.
Their narcissism knows no bounds. They are oblivious towards their detractors and a darling for the media. They have minimal respect for officialdom and no wonder, have had numerous run-ins with various associations. If Zlatan doesn't audition for anybody, Gayle is jealous of his parents that he will never have a kid as cool as theirs. They sound immensely self-indulgent but they pull it off with supreme elan. Just like Zlatan, Gayle too lives, plays and parties on his own terms.
Being self-indulgent might look like an easy job but those monstrous egos can be only housed in big hearts and needs to be backed up with bundles of talent.
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Both Zlatan and Gayle have magnetic personalities and on-field, they win battles by their sheer presence. Presence is an important ingredient for a sportsman. At the international level, everyone is talented, but what separates the stars from the megastars is their presence. Talent can win you games but talent wrapped in an envelope of a magnetic persona, wins hearts.
The converse is also true. Presence without talent is a nuisance often bordering on irritation. Examples, Joey Barton, Andre Nel.
Although, both players are enormously talented, neither Gayle nor Zlatan are the best in their business. They threaten to fire on most days but soon lose interest and take themselves out of the game. However, on their days, they are outrageously brilliant. They do things, most players won't even dream of. Zlatan and Gayle do them because they dare to. They tread the risky route instead of choosing the safer road.
Moreover, personalities like Zlatan and Gayle are important for sport. They bring in the audiences. Not many fans have the acumen to appreciate the intricacies of the game, they understand the broader strokes of the painting. Zlatan and Gayle, don't believe in the finer mix either, they go out and splash the canvas with all the colours on their palate! They party hard all night in clubs and then bring the party on the ground!
However, if there is a soft spot that have stung them both, is their failure to inspire their national teams. They have pulled off magnificent feats in their national colours as well, but their teams haven't stepped up and matched their standards. If Sweden have failed to live up to that outrageous over-head kick, West Indies has been on the downward spiral for far too long.
That hasn't bogged down these two though! They are master entertainers in their respective field and every fan around the world has nothing but admiration for them. They might lack loyalty towards the teams they play for but they haven't failed in being loyal to their fans and in their commitment to entertain them.