Chris Gayle picks greatest Indian bowler in the history of the Indian T20 League
Chris Gayle: (Image Source: Twitter)
In the lead-up to the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 League, a group of veteran cricketers and former Indian T20 League stars sat down to discuss some of the tournament’s greatest performers.
The likes of Suresh Raina, Chris Gayle, Robin Uthappa, Anil Kumble, Parthiv Patel, and Scott Styris went back and forth on the topic of some of the Indian T20 League’s best performers, and the subject of the greatest ever Indian bowler in the tournament came up.
A lot of legendary names were thrown around but former West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle went for a name that might surprise cricket fans. During his long and illustrious career in the Indian T20 League, Gayle has taken guard against some of the very best Indian bowlers such as Harbhajan Singh, R Ashwin, and Zaheer Khan.
In fact, Harbhajan and Ashwin share the distinction of having got Gayle out the most number of times in the tournament, with the off-spinning duo dismissing the Caribbean superstar five times each. His fellow panelists even brought up the likes of Amit Mishra, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
However, when choosing the greatest Indian bowler in the Indian T20 League, Gayle decided to throw the name of a bowler who has never dismissed him. The self-styled ‘Universe Boss’ went for current Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah as his choice, saying that “you just can’t seem to get him.”
He went on to add that his slower ball was difficult to play and his variations were extremely unique, which is why his vote would go to Bumrah over Bhajji or Ashwin. It’s interesting to note that Gayle has faced Bumrah 10 times in the IPL, scoring 37 runs in 48 balls – his lowest strike rate against bowlers who he has faced in at least five innings.
The discussion went on towards the topic of the greatest Indian batsman in Indian T20 League history, and the usual names like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and even Shikhar Dhawan were brought up before Anil Kumble suggested fellow panelist Suresh Raina as a possibility.
Addressing the stylish southpaw directly, Kumble referenced his match-winning ability and the way he had led Chennai Super Kings en route to claiming multiple Indian T20 League titles, saying that this was a pretty easy decision.
