Kings XI Punjab opener Chris Gayle believes that his opening partner, KL Rahul can deliver the goods for the India National Cricket Team like Virat Kohli. In fact, there is no doubt that there is a lot of talent in KL Rahul and he can be the big match player for the national side. However, he would need to be more consistent for the Indian Team.
Gayle, who has observed Rahul from close quarters in the Kings XI Punjab, believes the Karnataka batsman has the calibre to emulate Virat Kohli’s success. Kohli is one of the most consistent batsmen in the world and it is not going to be easy for Rahul to come up with similar performances.
KL Rahul is a flamboyant batsman.
Meanwhile, Chris Gayle and KL Rahul have been the fulcrum of Kings XI Punjab batting. Gayle has amassed 444 runs whereas the right-hander has accumulated 441 runs in the season.
In fact, Rahul was able to break into India’s World Cup squad on the back of his performances in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League.
“KL is definitely one of the players that come to my mind (when you talk about the current India players), I hope he produces the goods like Virat. After Virat, it should be him,” Gayle told PTI.
However, Chris Gayle believes that KL Rahul would need to perform under crunch situations to increase his confidence. The Universe Boss feels Rahul needs to put himself in the pressure situation to get the best out of himself.
“But it is not necessary for him to put himself under that kind of pressure, he needs to be himself, stay in his zone and try not to compete with anyone. “You have a lot of talent (in India), I could go on and on and most of them don’t even get the opportunity (to play for the national team),” said the 39-year-old West Indian, who is in top form ahead of his fifth World Cup.
On the other hand, Chris Gayle said that he has enjoyed his time in the Kings XI Punjab team. In fact, Gayle had almost gone unsold in the IPL 2018 auctions. Gayle has performed consistently for the Punjab side.
Gayle has enjoyed his time at KXIP.
“Two years I have been here (with KXIP) and it has been phenomenal. I love Punjab style. I am getting to work with a great bunch of people and hopefully, we can do something special for the franchise. The aim is to get to the play-offs and take it from there.”
Meanwhile, Chris Gayle also praised his captain, Ravichandran Ashwin. Gayle fails to understand why Ashwin is out of the Indian team. In fact, Ashwin has led from the front and has played a key role in the success of the Kings XI Punjab team.
“I don’t know what happened there (why he is not in India’s limited overs setup). He has been a phenomenal bowler for India. He is a very passionate bowler, equally passionate as captain and someone who strongly believes in his ability as well his team’s. It is very good to see that in a captain,” added Gayle.
Kings XI Punjab will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad today (29 April) at Hyderabad.
