‘There can’t be any IPL team without him’: Ex-India player Parthiv Patel selects Chris Gayle’s perfect opening partner

Former India player Parthiv Patel picked Chris Gayle's perfect opening partner in the Indian Premier League.

With Virat Kohli currently regarded as the best batter in modern-day cricket by many fans and experts, the former India captain will be aiming to put in a good display in the upcoming IPL 2023 season, as preparation for the upcoming ODI World Cup. But it was a big surprise to see the flamboyant batter get ignored by former players, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Anil Kumble, Scott Styris, in their All-Time IPL XI, on JioCinema.

Chris Gayle during his IPL career.(PTI)

The batter's exclusion initially was a big surprise for Chris Gayle, who was also in the expert panel and also his former RCB teammate. The 34-year-old was later on added to the team, replacing former great Virender Sehwag. With Gayle installed as the opener in the All-Time XI, former player Parthiv Patel named his perfect opening partner. "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", he said.

Here is the All-Time IPL XI picked by the 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.

Having taken over RCB's full-time captaincy in 2013, Kohli stepped down from the role after the 14th edition of the tournament. As captain, he led them in 140 matches, winning 66 and losing as many as 70 games. In 223 IPL matches, Kohli has slammed 6624 runs, packed with five centuries and 44 fifties, including a high score of 113. Having batted both as an opener and lower down the order for RCB, Kohli registered 341 runs in 16 IPL 2022 matches, with a high score of 73. He also bagged two fifties. He will be hoping put in a good show in the upcoming season.