Jozi Stars international marquee player Chris Gayle has confirmed he will play in the Mzansi Super League’s first weekend when his side kick off their fixture list against Nelson Mandela Bay Giants at the Wanderers on Saturday, 17 November.

Gayle, with his swashbuckling batting style, is arguably one of the best-ever limited-overs cricketers and is considered the benchmark in T20 cricket, holding the distinction of the highest T20 score ever (175 not out).

The 39-year-old West Indian has a great track record at the 34,000-seater Wanderers stadium, popularly referred to as the ‘Bull Ring’, where he scored the first-ever century in the shortest format of the game back in 2007.

‘We are excited to have Chris part of this tournament from the start and he is looking forward to linking up with his Jozi Stars teammates,’ said Cricket South Africa chief executive officer Thabang Moroe.

‘Seeing the “World Boss” back in South Africa and playing cricket – we and the fans could not have asked for anything better than one of the most popular players that have ever played the game.’

Gayle joins an already formidable lineup at the Stars with Proteas marquee superstar bowler Kagiso Rabada, left-arm paceman Beuran Hendricks as well as stylish Proteas batsman Reeza Hendricks. The other international marquee players are Rashid Khan (Durban Heat) Jason Roy (Giants), Dawid Malan (Cape Town Blitz), Eoin Morgan (Tshwane Spartans) and Dwayne Bravo (Paarl Rocks).

South African marquee players for the tournament are Rabada, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Imran Tahir and Quinton de Kock.

Match tickets (www.ticketpros.co.za) are on sale for all 32 tournament matches, with prices starting at R50 each. Tickets are available through Ticketpro and retail outlets (Edgars, Jet, CNA, and Spar across the country).

Photo: Duif du Toit/Gallo Images