New Delhi: In a totally different game, West Indies cricket legend Chris Gayle will tell the inspiring story of his life from being a shy, skinny kid from a tin-roofed shack in the back streets of Kingston, stealing empty bottles to buy food, to becoming one of the most destructive batsmen in world.
Gayle’s memoirs “Six Machine: I Don’t Like Cricket… I Love It,” published by Penguin Random House, will be released around the world on June 2.
Gayle is really excited about his first book.
“I hope it can reach far and wide, through cricket and beyond, for there are stories to tell and secrets I’ve waited a long time to share. Being me is fun. I don’t believe in boring. And ‘Six Machine’ is me, in every way,” he says.
The book will be written with Tom Fordyce, chief BBC sports writer.
Viking acquired world rights from David Luxton at DLA for “Six Machine: I Don’t Like Cricket… I Love It”.
Joel Rickett, publisher of Viking at Penguin Random House, says: “Chris Gayle is one of the standout characters in an increasingly bland sporting world. Like the man himself, ‘Six Machine’ is outrageous and utterly original. The only Comparison I can make is to ‘I Am Zlatan’ by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and I think we’ve got a similar sensation on our hands.”
According to the publishers, “Six Machine” is a story not just of sporting genius but of battling prejudice; of coming from nothing to everything and yet not losing yourself along the way.