The St Kitts & Nevis Patriots announced the acquisition of one of the greatest batsmen of the modern era, Chris Gayle, as the newest member of the Patriots family.

The undisputed King of T20 cricket has signed a new contract which will see him become the headliner in the Patriots team for the 2017 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season. Gayle previously led the Jamaica Tallawahs in all four editions of the Hero CPL – winning the championship twice, in 2013 and earlier this year in 2016.

Commenting on his transfer, Gayle said he is proud of what he achieved with his native Jamaica Tallawahs, and is now looking forward to taking a fresh guard with the Patriots whose home base is ‘Sugar City’ St. Kitts.

“I am a proud Jamaican and I loved representing the Tallawahs. I would like to thank the owners and management who have been brilliant to work with, my team-mates who always gave me 100% support, and of course the Jamaican fans who made Sabina Park such a special home ground for me.

“Moving to St. Kitts is a move which hugely excites me at this time. As with all franchise leagues, there is always the opportunity to move from one team to another and I am looking forwards to joining the Patriots for the upcoming season.”

Uday Nayak, Co-Owner & Team Principal of the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots said “We are overjoyed to have Gayle join the franchise and, on behalf of co-owners Nirvan Veerasamy, Mohammed Ansari and myself, I would like to welcome one of the world’s greatest batsmen to the Patriots squad for the forthcoming Hero CPL season. This is a transfer I am certain will capture the imagination of our many fans in St. Kitts, the Caribbean and beyond.”

The Patriots co-owner also expressed thanks to the Tallawahs owners Ron Parikh and Manish Patel for what Nayak described as their professionalism in facilitating Gayle’s move.

Nayak added: “Chris’ record is phenomenal, not just in the West Indies, but across the cricketing world. He has a reputation that is revered everywhere and is the kind of player who will drive our team forward. This is one of the biggest transfers in Hero CPL history and I know from speaking with Chris that he is motivated to do well for his new franchise. Success has followed Chris throughout his career and we as owners will give him and the team our full support to achieve similar success for the Patriots in 2017.”