Chris Gayle attracted one of the highest bids amongst the overseas players at the Indian Premier League auction in Mumbai on Wednesday, selling for $800,000.

The left-handed master-blaster and accurate off-spinner, who plundered the first Twenty20 International century, at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in September, was bought by Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata franchise.

Gayle will line up along side Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, with whom he played at English county team Worcestershire in 2005, team captain Sourav Ganguly – who may be his partner when opening the batting, New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum and Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who sold for half the price of Gayle, at $400,000.