Cape Town - Chris Gayle will leave the Jozi Stars camp and return to the Caribbean to attend his mother's funeral.
The West Indian batsman's mother passed away on November 6 with the funeral only scheduled for this weekend.
"I just want to thank Cricket South Africa and the Jozi Stars staff, it's always a pleasure to come to South Africa and play cricket," Gayle told the media following the Stars' 6-wicket loss to the Paarl Rocks.
"It's unfortunate that I have to leave due to family matters. Not the way I wanted to sign off here but family is the number one priority.
"It's a tough one. I'm not going to say it was easy to play cricket knowing that you lost your mom, especially when you're close to her," he said at the Wanderers.
"It was really tough to focus on the game, but if I was actually home it would've been worst and meeting new team members and building relationships kind of calmed me."
Gayle has played in four Mzansi Super League games this season and has only scored 43 with the bat.
He will miss their final round game against Tshwane Spartans at the Wanderers on Tuesday.
The Stars play in a must-win encounter to ensure a playoff spot.
Play is set to get under way at 19:00.
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