Chris Gayle leaves out Rohit Sharma from all-time IPL playing 11; picks Jasprit Bumrah over Lasith Malinga
Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Chris Gayle picked his all-time IPL playing 11 during a conversation with InsideSport amid the ongoing season. Gayle made some interesting picks and left out some big names such as Rohit Sharma.
He added four overseas players, including himself, along with seven Indian players. The former cricketer chose himself and his teammate from his time at RCB, Virat Kohli, as the openers. He left out Mumbai Indians (MI) star Rohit Sharma and picked former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player Suresh Raina at No. 3.
He picked another of his former RCB teammates, AB De Villiers, at No. 4. For No. 5, Chris Gayle made an interesting choice by going with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, followed by MS Dhoni at No. 6. He also named Dhoni as the captain of his all-time IPL 11.
At No. 7 and 8, the 45-year-old picked his former West Indies teammates Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine as all-rounders, completing his four overseas picks. At No. 9, he went with yet another former RCB teammate — leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.
Coming to the two frontline pacers, Gayle picked Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He had to leave MI legend Lasith Malinga out as he already had four overseas picks.
Chris Gayle's all-time IPL Playing 11: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, AB De Villiers, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Chris Gayle comes out in support of MS Dhoni
Chris Gayle also came out in support of MS Dhoni, who is facing severe criticism for batting lower down the order in the ongoing IPL season. His batting position has been questioned after CSK faced two consecutive defeats while chasing.
However, Gayle said Dhoni brings immense value to the IPL and that he should not be pushed.
"With Dhoni, he brings a lot of value to the IPL. You want to see him as long as possible and want him to stay. You don't want to push him. When you start to hear that noise, people are going to send a wrong message to such a great player and a great person. You don't want to send such a message to a guy like Dhoni because he brings so much value in IPL,” the former RCB star told InsideSport (via NDTV Sports).
CSK lost two games while chasing against RCB and Rajasthan Royals, with Dhoni coming to bat at No. 9 and No. 7, respectively, in both the games.