IPL 10: You feel for Virat when he has to attend post-match presentations, says Chris Gayle

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have had a very dismal run in the Indian Premier League this year. They finished at the bottom of the points table. With just 3 wins in the series this time around, the previous year finalists were nowhere close to their best in this edition. Star opener Chris Gayle has been a perennial performer for the RCB outfit. This year, even he had a bad time at the crease.

There are a lot of speculations hovering around the form of the Indian cricketers. Some of the players who are scheduled to tour England next month for the ICC Champions Trophy have not been in the best of forms in the IPL. However, Chris Gayle feels that will not be much of a concern. He believes that the Indian batting lineup is strong enough to regroup and come with improved shows in the English conditions.

“The good thing about T20 cricket is that it’s a very quick format compared to ODI cricket, where you can give yourself a chance to bat a bit longer. It gives you more time to get set. With IPL pushed aside now, they (Kohli, Jadhav) will have enough time to regroup,” quoted Chris Gayle as per the quotes in the Indian Express.

“If the Indian top-order batsmen get set, we all know how dangerous they can be. We all look forward to that. Forget about the current IPL form, all of them are match winners,” he added further.

He further elaborated that things were really hard on the RCB skipper Virat Kohli. Gayle noted that it was very tough for Kohli to speak at the post-match presentations after his team was consistently failing with the bat.

“You feel for Virat when he has to put forth his views at post-match presentations when the team loses so consistently. You can see he is at loss for words. What reason can he give match after match?” remarked Gayle.

Citing one of the reasons for their failure, Chris Gayle said that the relaid track at the Chinnaswamy stadium was a tough one to decipher. The nature of the wicket suddenly became slower than usual. A track that was renowned for producing big scores is producing low scoring affairs now.

“Yes, it was a factor. The Chinnaswamy track was relaid and the drainage system became better. It soaked all the water and the pitch became dry. Now, Chinnaswamy is a traditionally 180-plus wicket where 140 became a winning score,” he conceded.

A word on Sunil Narine

Gayle, who is known as the Universe Boss of T20 cricket, looked mighty pleased with the way his West Indies team-mate Sunil Narine has been performing for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Narine has seen a promotion in the batting position and he has been making full use of it. Also, he noted that the bowling of Narine remains unaffected and he is still the best in the business.

“To be honest, he is one guy who has turned it around as a cricketer. Some teams (franchises) tried him as an opener and it worked for KKR. You can’t deny he has been under scrutiny for his action. He came back with a remodeled action. But once people play him more, more accustomed they are to his style of bowling. So it’s something where you can say, ‘Yes’ his batting can give him confidence with his bowling as well. As a spinner, he is still most economical in T20,” concluded Gayle.