In Indian Premier League (IPL), surely Royal Challengers Banglore (RCB) has the best batters on their side as compared to their bowling unit. RCB during Chris Gayle, AB Devilliers and Virat Kohli’s span peaked but still failed to lift the title, in the 2015 & 2016 editions they were close to ending the drought as they finished in the 3rd and runner ups position respectively.
Gayle in an episode with ‘My Time With Virat’ on Jio Cinema, remembered one incident during their playing days, which still amused him.
Gayle highlighted the bond the two-star Indian batter shared in RCB-
“One thing I remember, just to go back a bit, I remember Virat was the Orange Cap holder one particular season. I was getting runs but he was more of the guy at the time scoring a lot of runs,” Chris Gayle said.
“Then, bam bam, two or three games, whatever the case may be, I became the Orange Cap holder. He was like, ‘man this guy just came in, bang bang bang, and became the Orange Cap holder?’ It was just a funny thing that I’ll always remember,” said the veteran batter.
T20 batting legend Chris Gayle played for seven seasons–and produced some astounding performances for RCB in the Chinnaswamy stadium. Gayle’s best score is an unbeaten 175. After the 2018 season, the left-hander moved to the Punjab-based side and then left Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 2022 edition, later he revealed that he opted out of the PBKS franchise due to a lack of respect.
“We had some great memories batting together. Those moments we will always cherish. Those dance moves off the field also, I am sure you can see them on social media, I will cherish those things as well,” remarked Gayle. “Batting with Virat was just fantastic,” he added.
“I like the passion he has for the game. I like his passion and his work ethic, it’s fantastic. You have to give him credit for that and he wants to show it with his performances,” he further added.
Jersey numbers 17 and 333 will be retired forever as a tribute to @ABdeVilliers17 and @henrygayle, when we induct the legends of RCB into the Hall of Fame, at the #RCBUnbox presented by Walkers and Co.#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB pic.twitter.com/Ka2SaORSel
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) March 17, 2023
Earlier, the Bengaluru-based club announced, that they will retire jersey numbers 17 and 333 as a tribute to Hall of Fame stars AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle for their remarkable contribution.
RCB is one of the only three sides who are playing in the league since the inaugural season and are yet to win it. While in the IPL 2023, the Bengaluru-based side will play in front of the full-packed Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore after three long years. Faf du Plessis will open their campaign in IPL 2023 on April 2 when they will lock horns against Mumbai Indians (MI).
Also read: IPL 2023: Glenn Maxwell Delivers Worrying Update On His Fitness As He Gears Up To Represent RCB