IPL 2018: Virender Sehwag reveals why KXIP roped in Gayle at the last moment

Chris Gayle is rated among the top batsmen in the world cricket. His exploits and numbers in the shortest format of the game remain unmatched. Despite all stats being in his favor, the big Jamaican had failed to attract bids at the IPL 2018 auctions. It was in the dying hours of the auction when the Kings XI Punjab roped him in at his base price. Recently, Virender Sehwag explained the reason behind this.

Virender Sehwag is the Director of Cricketing Operations of the KXIP franchise. He was very much active in suggesting the owners to pick certain players at the auctions. When the name of Chris Gayle had popped up, no franchises were interested on the first day. About 120 seconds of awkwardness had followed after the incident and Gayle went unsold.

However, in the final hour of the auctions on the second day, Gayle found a taker. After some contemplation, the Kings XI Punjab bagged him for his base price. When his name had popped out for the second time, Sehwag was seen saying something to the KXIP owner Preity Zinta. Preity immediately raised the paddle to bid for Gayle after hearing it out from Sehwag.

Now, as per the reports in AmarUjala, Virender Sehwag has revealed the reason why KXIP roped in Gayle at the very last moment. He remarked that it is always good to have backup players in the side. Moreover, Gayle has an unmatched match value in the shortest format of the game.

“Simply having him (Gayle) in your side means a lot. Being an opening batsman, Gayle can prove to be a danger to any opposition. Gayle’s brand value speaks for himself and how effective he is in this format. We decided to bring in Gayle as a backup option for the opening slots,” quoted Virender Sehwag.

Might not make it to the starting eleven

It is worth noting that albeit Gayle is in the side, he might not get a game directly. The Kings have shelled out INR 11 crore for KL Rahul and hence, he is likely to be the opener. Also, they have bought Karun Nair, who is in red hot form at the moment.

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