West Indies opener Chris Gayle is surprised and disappointed after being snubbed by IPL franchises during the players' auction for the event's fourth edition.
"I'm sure all those IPL franchises, everyone will know what I'm capable of. I didn't have anything to prove. It's unfortunate things didn't come off in the IPL, disappointed but at the same time you've got to live life and still got to move on," Gayle said.
"It's sad the way things go down but there's nothing I can do about it. Yeah I'm a bit surprised," the West Indian was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press.
In a major embarrassment for the star batsman, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders last season, none of the 10 franchises bid for Gayle in both rounds of auctions that concluded in Bangalore on Sunday. He played for the Kolkata Knight Riders during the previous two seasons.
The Caribbean destroyer, however, added that he was overlooked by all 10 IPL franchises for the fourth edition due to his international commitments.
Gayle would have only been available for about two weeks of the April 8-May 22 tournament, making his reserve price tag of $400,000 an expensive package.
"I think the franchise looks at it that way. They want their best players to be available for the full IPL. It's out of my hands," said Gayle, who smashed 32 runs in one over against New South Wales (NSW) in an Australian domestic match.
Australian player Shaun Marsh, who has been retained by Kings XI Punjab after being snapped up for $400,000, said he was astonished when he first heard the news that Gayle was overlooked.
"It came as a huge surprise to everybody. He's a world-class player in all formats of the game, especially in Twenty20. So to see him not go up was very strange but I'm sure when he's available for the whole series in 2012 we'll see Chris Gayle there," Marsh said.
