Gayle eyes rest after tiring season

Chris Gayle, fresh off leading Jamaica to the first Caribbean Premier League title, has indicated he is eyeing a long rest after a hectic season of continuous cricket. In the last 12 months, Gayle has featured in 71 matches across different formats, 35 of them for five domestic T20 leagues around the world.

"It's been a long road, and I am very, very tired mentally," Gayle said. "It was a challenging time batting-wise in the Tri-nation series (against India and Sri Lanka) and then against Pakistan, and to have come and played a captain's part in the CPL has been really, really, stressing."

Gayle, whose captain's knock of 47 not out in the final earned Jamaica the CPL trophy, started the year with a stint with Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League in Australia. He flew back to the West Indies to play two T20s for Jamaica in the Caribbean T20, scoring 85 and 122 not out .

Gayle then travelled back to Australia on West Indies duty for the limited-overs series in February before joining the Dhaka Gladiators in the Bangladesh Premier League. He played only one match in the BPL and hit a century that helped Gladiators make it to the final of the tournament. He then returned home for the series against Zimbabwe.

This was a precursor to his stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. The ICC Champions Trophy in England ensued in May before the Tri-nation in the Caribbean. West Indies then played five ODIs and two T20s against Pakistan and Gayle featured in every match of the series.

"It's been quite a lot, and I am really, really happy that it is over now. No more cricket for me until the next three months," he said.

Gayle's form took a dip after he scored a century in the first match of the Tri-nation series against Sri Lanka, but he managed to finish fourth in the batting charts of the CPL with 234 runs from nine games at an average of 29.25.

West Indies are slated to tour New Zealand starting in December. They are due to play three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s.