'I'm the boss, not ICC,' Gayle's hilarious interview goes viral after record-breaking knock

West Indies superstar Chris Gayle, who likes to call himself 'The Universe Boss' said that he is the "boss" and not the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday.

Gayle struck a 38-ball 67 in the third Twenty20 International (T20I) against Australia at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium. He hammered seven sixes and four fours as he became the first-ever batsman to complete 14,000 runs in the T20s. The 41-year-old explosive opener now has scored 14,038 runs in 423 innings, including 22 centuries and 87 fifties.

Gayle received the Player of the Match as West Indies defeated Australia by six wickets in their chase of 42 and thereby, the hosts also gained an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the five-match series.

The Punjab Kings batsman struck three straight sixes against spinner Adam Zampa to reach his 50 in the 11th over before raising his "Six Machine" bat to show "The Boss" sticker on the blade.

It was also Gayle's first half-century for West Indies since 2016. During the third T20I against Australia on Tuesday, Gayle's bat did not have the word 'universe' in it.

When asked about it in an interview after the game, Gayle said the ICC does not want him to use 'Universe Boss' behind his bat.

"It's just the boss… You know it's the Universe Boss but the ICC don't want me to use the Universe Boss so I've shortened it just put 'The Boss'. I am the boss," said Gayle with a big smile.

When asked if ICC had the copyright over 'Universal Boss,' Gayle replied,"Yeah yeah. Well, I'll have to copyright it." The reporter then added, "ICC are technically the boss of cricket, right?" To which Gayle replied: "No no, I am, not the ICC. I am technically the boss."

Gayle, who has not been at the best of the form for his country, went on to add in the interview that people should enjoy watching him play rather than concerning about the numbers.

"Don't mind the numbers ... you guys should be happy to see Chris Gayle on the field still. Hopefully, Chris will last as long as possible. Cherish those moments ... just respect the Universe Boss and let him play cricket and have some fun," the Windies player added.

Gayle also credited West Indies' T20I captain Kieron Pollard for backing him in his tough phase over the last few months.

"From a personal point of view, we all know that I was struggling, so it was pleasing to get runs. I want to dedicate these runs to my teammates, especially Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo. To Kieron Pollard, he played a big part as well even though he played in none of these games.

He stands (sic) tall for the person I am and what I've achieved. He let me know where I stand within this team and he wanted me to go and express myself. So I'm very grateful for that pep talk because sometimes it doesn't matter how great you are, you need a bit of a talk sometimes," Gayle was quoted as saying, in a post-match interview.