Chris Gayle Unimpressed by Mulder's Bold Call

Chris Gayle doesn't mince his words, especially when records are on the line. The forceful West Indies opener has put Wiaan Mulder on blast for what he sees as a missed slice of history: declaring at 367 not out when the world’s best Test score, Brian Lara’s legendary 400*, was well within reach. Mulder, standing in as South Africa’s captain, made the call against Zimbabwe—choosing team ambition over a personal Everest. Gayle, however, thinks the moment shows a lack of nerve and vision.

Gayle’s take is simple—opportunities to even touch Lara’s benchmark come maybe once in a player’s entire life, if at all. “I can’t believe he walked away from not just a triple, but a quadruple century,” Gayle scoffed. To cricketers all over the world, that 400 isn’t just a record; it’s cricket’s ultimate flex. But instead of pushing on, Mulder chose to put the team first, declaring with his own bat blazing and 33 runs shy of immortality.

The Great Debate: Team Over Records?

Mulder defended the decision quickly, saying it was about giving South Africa enough time to go for the win. But Gayle, and a lot of cricket fans watching, wondered why the team couldn’t wait just a few more overs. “There’s a time for team cricket, and there’s a time you chase history,” Gayle insisted. “What Mulder did was panic, plain and simple.”

This isn’t the first time a captain’s called time on a record chase—and it won’t be the last. But the reaction says something about how Test cricket has changed. There’s a razor-thin line between selflessness and regret when world records are involved. Gayle’s own career was built on chasing milestones and never looking back, and he points to the rarity with which someone even comes close to Lara’s 400. Modern cricket, with its packed schedules and tactical declarations, sometimes leaves less room for individual splendor.

The numbers don’t lie: Brian Lara’s 400* against England in 2003 stands unchallenged for over two decades now. Mulder’s unbeaten 367 grabs its own piece of the record books, becoming the highest by a South African since Graeme Smith. But the what-could-have-been hangs heavy over the cricket world, especially as talk swirls about who, if anyone, might ever break Lara’s astonishing record.

Gayle sums it up for those still watching: “Records exist to be challenged, and when you’re that close, the whole world remembers if you go for it—or if you let it slip away.” The tension between team glory and personal milestones isn’t going anywhere, but this moment will stick in cricket’s memory for a long time.