Gayle wants to refresh before the start of the T20 World Cup later this month.
The franchise on Thursday (September 30) released a statement in this regard, wherein Gayle admitted that staying in a bio-secure environment has taken a toll on him and he wants to refresh before the start of the T20 World Cup later this month.
"Over the last few months, I have been a part of the CWI bubble, CPL bubble followed by the IPL bubble, and I wish to mentally recharge and refresh myself," said Gayle in a statement issued by PBKS.
"I want to refocus on helping the West Indies in the T20 World Cup and would like to take a break in Dubai. My thanks to the Punjab Kings for giving me the time off. My wishes and hopes are with the squad always. All the very best for the games coming up."
Gayle had played two games for Punjab in the UAE-leg of IPL 2021 and registered scores of 14 and 1 from it.
After the news came out, cricket fraternity took to Twitter and supported Chris Gayle for his decision, highlighting the tough life inside the bio-bubble.
Here are the tweets:
Chris Gayle is likely to remain in Dubai before joining the West Indies squad for the T20 World Cup 2021, slated to be held in UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14.