RCB retains Jamaican cricketer Gayle for Rs 9.5 cr

He still isn't the most expensive, but the Jamaican has got a 3-fold hike in fees after being dumped in 2011

Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle has hit a pot of gold, so to speak. From being an unsold player in 2011, Gayle has become one of the expensive players in 2014 with a three-fold jump in his fees. Although it does not make Gayle the most expensive player this year, the hefty hike at the start of 2014 from being left out at the IPL auctions in 2011 makes it as explosive as the West Indian star’s batting performance on the 22 yards.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has retained the Jamaican cricketer as the second-capped player for IPL-7 for Rs 9.5 crore. For the 2014 edition, the franchise’s full-squad salary payouts have been capped at Rs 60 crore. This will see an annual jump of five per cent for the next two editions, according to the IPL governing council rules.

According to rules laid out by the IPL governing council, Rs 12.5 crore will be slashed from the team budget for the first-capped player, Rs 9.5 crore for the second-capped player and Rs 7.5 crore for the third-capped player. The auction for IPL 7 will be held on February 12 and, if required, may be extended to February 13.

Gayle was left unsold during IPL auctions in 2011 and he later joined the RCB squad as a replacement for Dirk Nannes. Gayle’s fee for the tournament was at about Rs 3.5 crore then. That year, he also went on to grab the orange cap in the tournament as he was the highest scorer.

While the fee has been capped for retaining players, the team owners may not necessarily have to give the contract of the same amount. However, sources said Gayle’s contract has almost the same fee. Gayle was reportedly negotiating with the RCB management for a hefty hike for the seventh edition of the cricketing tournament.

“I am delighted to be back,” Gayle tweeted, after he was retained in RCB for IPL7. RCB has also retained  Virat Kohli and South Africa’s AB de Villiers. This means, the Bangalore team would have a budget left of Rs 30.5 crore to go shopping for the new outfit.

The selection of Gayle by RCB was no surprise in the sports circle as he couple with Kohli and Villiers are part of the demonstrating batting nucleus.