IPL 2015: Chris Gayle Still the Same Force With the Willow?

Chris Gayle. That's one name that's synonymous with ruthless batting. Yes, there are many batsmen in world cricket who can take the leather off the ball, but Gayle has a special aura of big hitting about him. Is the Jamaican still the force that he used to be though? NDTV's IPL expert and former Australian cricketer Dean Jones said, "Gayle might hurt you in one in ten games, maybe one in twelve games."

The match versus Hyderabad on Monday was not one of those games. A lot was expected from Gayle on Bangalore's home ground, but though he started strong, he couldn't go past 21.(Gambhir Laments Dropping Gayle)

It was last Saturday when Gayle played his first big knock of IPL 2015. His 56-ball 96 versus Kolkata Knight Riders was what took an RCB team, threatening to implode, across the finish line for a nervy win. It was a knock that included seven fours and seven sixes, but then, he was also dropped twice (on 33 & 63). Gayle in fact later said, "One of the turning points of the game was Morne (Morkel) dropping my catch." Dean Jones also pointed out, "Even in the match at the Eden Gardens, he was struggling to run between the wickets. I think he's only 70% fit."(Chris Gayle dedicates knock to his mother)

The 35-year-old has a chronic back problem. He recently turned down a retainer from the West Indies Board. Not just because he's still hot property in T20 leagues around the world, but also because his back doesn't really allow him to play the longer formats regularly. Gayle, in fact has said, "People say surgery but they say once you have surgery on your back basically your career can be over."

Gayle holds almost all the big hitting records in the IPL, including highest individual score (175* off 66 balls in 2013), most 100s (4), most sixes (200) and fastest 100 (off 30 balls in 2013). However over the last one year, Gayle hasn't really been the force he once used to be in the IPL. In 2014, Gayle played only 9 games for Bangalore. He finished with 196 runs, at an average of below 22. He was 39th on the list of highest run getters.

There's no doubting Gayle's incredible hitting prowess. He has been one of the biggest match winners, not just in the IPL, but in world cricket. Fitness issues though seem to be slowing down the juggernaut that used to flatten opposition teams. So is the Gayle-storm losing force? Or is this simply the calm before the storm?