Suresh Raina, Chris Gayle lead discussion on greatest players in IPL's history

IPL Legends Suresh Raina, Chris Gayle, Robin Uthappa, Anil Kumble, Parthiv Patel, and Scott Styris discuss the greatest players in IPL history on ‘Legends Lounge’

Who are the greatest players in Indian Premier League history? Well, this is a debate that will rage on every season. Nevertheless, some of the finest players the league has seen to date got together on TATA IPL ‘All-Time GOATs,’ a new episode of ‘Legends Lounge’, available on JioCinema, to discuss all those who have had the maximum impact. 

The panel comprised of Chris Gayle, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, Robin Uthappa, Anil Kumble, and Scott Styris. 

Gayle, the swashbuckling left-hander from the West Indies, was a unanimous choice for the greatest overseas batsman. Universe Boss, as he’s known, laid down the gauntlet for anyone objecting. “Come on, of course it’s me. Anyone object, put two boxing gloves down and I can punch it out!,” he said. The group later threw up names such as AB de Villiers and David Warner as contenders who could challenge Gayle’s selection. 

Mr. IPL Suresh Raina was hailed by Anil Kumble and the panel as the greatest Indian batsman in IPL history. Scott Styris elaborated on that position and addressed Raina directly to tell him, “Your match-winning ability and the way you’ve led CSK, I think it’s a pretty easy decision.” 

The panel discussed a few more Indian batsmen who could stake a claim to that position, with Uthappa naming Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, while Parthiv recognized Shikhar Dhawan’s consistency. However, Raina was the eventual choice. 

The panel then named Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan as two overseas players who could be considered the greatest bowlers in the history of the tournament, but all agreed that the impact Lasith Malinga had on his franchise and the league was unmatched. 

The names for the greatest Indian bowler were plentiful, with names like Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla, and Yuzvendra Chahal. 

Chris Gayle put the discussion to bed by describing the challenge of playing Jasprit Bumrah, who was selected by the panel for the position, “Bumrah absolutely. I am not gonna pick an off-spinner like Bhajji or Ashwin, but definitely Bumrah. You just can’t seem to get him. Difficult to play his slow ball, his variations are very, very unique. I pick Bumrah.”