Former India wicket-keeper batter, Mumbai Indians Talent Scout, Parthiv Patel named Virat Kohli as Chris Gayle’s perfect opening partner in the Indian Premier League.
Virat Kohli is currently considered by many fans and experts to be the best batsman in modern cricket and the former India captain is expected to put up a good show in the upcoming IPL 2023 season as he prepares for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
But it was a big surprise to see this brilliant batsman ignored by former players Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Anil Kumble, Scott Styris in their all-time IPL XI on JioCinema.
The dismissal of the batsman initially came as a big surprise to Chris Gayle, who was also on the panel of experts and his former RCB teammate. The 34-year-old joined the team later in place of Virender Sehwag.
With Gayle installed as the opening batsman in the All-Time XI, former player Parthiv Patel was named his perfect opening partner.
He said,
“I think Virat Kohli’s numbers are unbelievable as an opener. The chemistry between Gayle and Virat makes a huge difference. Gayle is Chris Gayle. There can’t be any IPL team without him.”
Here is the all-time IPL XI picked by former players:
Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Sunil Narine, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga.
Chris Gayle has played 142 matches in IPL and he has scored six centuries and 31 fifties with 4965 runs. Averaging close to 40, Gayle’s highest score in a match is 175 not out