Gayle signs for Somerset
Chris Gayle signs for Somerset in this season's Friends Life Twenty20 tournament.
The 32-year-old flamboyant opener will fill the void of his compatriot Kieron Pollard, who is due to join the national squad for the tour of England.
Gayle has been not picked for national duty after last year’s World Cup following differences with country board but since the left-hander has made domestic Twenty20 competitions and leagues his livelihood across the globe, in which he has scored almost 3,000 runs in 85 games at an exceptional average of 39.58.
“Chris is a tremendously exciting player and one of the people who would get into any World T20 XI,” Brian Rose, the Somerset’s director of cricket said on Thursday.
“He is a tremendous all-rounder; his batting is outstanding, he bowls and can open the attack with his off-spinners and he is also a brilliant fielder, so we are absolutely delighted.”
Gayle, currently representing Sydney Thunder in Big Bash League Twenty20 in Australia, expressed contentment over his stint with the English county.
“I am delighted to be heading to Somerset this summer, they are a great club and hopefully I can make a key contribution to their T20 campaign this year.”
The signing of Gayle completes Somerset’s overseas signings.
