Chris Gayle had his best years in Indian Premier League (IPL) when he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from 2011-2017. He along with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers formed a formidable batting lineup, which reached the finals of the IPL 2016.
Gayle had multiple century partnerships with Virat Kohli during their time in RCB and he fondly remembered his tenure in the franchise in a show on JioCinema.
"Batting with Virat was just fantastic. I like the passion he has for the game. I like his passion and his work ethic, it's fantastic. You have to give him credit for that and he wants to show it with his performances.
Sharing a dressing room with Virat and the other guys, once I am there, I am always jovial and having a lot of fun, dancing and everything like that," Gayle said in an episode of 'My Time with Virat' on JioCinema.
"I'd show them a few moves and realize Virat's got the skills. He can move, you know. But if it's an Indian dance, Chris Gayle will win. if it's a Caribbean dance, Chris Gayle will win!,” he added.
However, despite being best of friends during their RCB time, Gayle recalled the competitiveness of Kohli saying that the former RCB captain was surprised when Gayle took the Orange Cap away from him during one IPL season.
"One thing I remember, just to go back a bit, I remember Virat was the Orange Cap holder one particular season. I was getting runs but he was more of the guy at the time scoring a lot of runs. Then, bam bam, two or three games, whatever the case may be, I became the Orange Cap holder. He was like, 'man this guy just came in, bang bang bang, and became the Orange Cap holder?' It was just a funny thing that I'll always remember," Gayle said.
For years, Kohli and Gayle toyed with the opposition bowling attacks, but Gayle said that it was not only fours and sixes that did the trick for them, but they focused a lot on running between wickets and which yielded rich dividends.
"We had a good understanding with each other. We complemented each other well. Sometimes people might say 'Chris didn't run between the wickets'. I bat with Virat, and I ran between the wickets, so I don't want anyone to use this as an alibi to say we don't run between the wickets. We have over nine (ten) 100-run partnerships, check how many times how many twos and threes we took. I was the quickest one between the wickets. Don't get it twisted," he said.
RCB is honoring its former players Gayle and AB de Villiers for their contributions to the franchise by retiring their jersey numbers 333 and 17.
(PTI inputs)
