Rahul and Gayle have been playing for Kings XI Punjab since 2018.
See Also: ‘Missed IPL a lot, was going to be a big season for me’ – KXIP skipper KL Rahul
As it turned out, Rahul and Gayle justified the trust of the franchise. They formed a potent opening combination, often taking opposition attack to the cleaners in powerplay overs.
On Tuesday (June 23), both the batsmen gave an insight into how they stitched together a successful partnership.
"There has been a lot of occasions when the dot ball count would go up while we were at the crease. But we would often tell each other not to panic at an early stage. This is because we could always make up for the dot balls later,” Gayle said during the show ‘Open Nets with Mayank’ on IPL’s official website.
Sharing his experience, Rahul said: "While batting, we generally try to be in the zone and we have very few conversations.”
He jokingly added that Gayle used to look sleepy ahead of the match.
“There has been a couple of times when Gayle looked really sleepy. I would ask him about what time he woke up and he would say ‘just an hour ago’. I understood that even during IPL, he runs on Jamaica time. However, when he walks out into the middle, he is a nightmare for the bowlers,” the India opener said of the Universe Boss.
Rahul also recalled that Gayle was hungry and angry for runs when he joined KXIP.
"In 2018, Gayle was hungry and angry. We were playing against Sunrisers Hyderabad and he told me that if Rashid Khan comes into the attack, I am going to finish him. I don't like a spinner coming in and staring me down. So Rashid comes into the attack and Chris gets the strike. And he goes on to make hundred that day and smashed Rashid all over the park. He had a clear plan and he was in the zone,” he stated.
Here's the full video: