'You just can’t seem to get him. He's very unique': Gayle snubs Harbhajan, Ashwin to pick greatest Indian bowler in IPL
Gayle picked a bowler who has never dismissed him, yet for the Windies legend, he was the toughest he has faced.
The GOAT discussion, in any sports, has always entertained fans. Hence, veteran cricketers Suresh Raina, Chris Gayle, Robin Uthappa, Anil Kumble, Parthiv Patel, and Scott Styris sat to pick the greatest players in history of Indian Premier League. Among those discussions were the one that pertained to the greatest ever Indian bowler in IPL and while others threw in a lot many names Gayle put the discussion to bed by picking the toughest bowler he has ever faced.
If your guesses include Harbhajan Singh or R Ashwin, then both are wrong. It's only logical to name the two off-spinners who have both dismissed Gayle the most number of times in IPL, five each, with Ashwin being the more menacing with his average of just 10.6, but Gayle picked a bowler who has never dismissed him, yet for the Windies legend, he was the toughest he has faced.
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Raina, Uthappa and Parthiv threw in names like Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal. Amit Mishra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Styris, who was leading the discussion, turned to Gayle to ask him who is the toughest he has faced.
“Bumrah absolutely. I am not gonna pick an off-spinner like Bhajji or Ashwin, but definitely Bumrah. You just can’t
seem to get him. Difficult to play his slow ball, his variations are very, very unique. I pick Bumrah,” he said.
In 10 IPL encounters, Bumrah has conceded 37 runs in 48 balls against Gayle, whose strike rate is the lowest amongst bowlers who he has faced at least in five innings.
Meanwhile, Raina was hailed by Anil Kumble and the panel as the greatest Indian batsman in IPL history. Styris elaborated on that position and addressed Raina directly to tell him, “Your match-winning ability and the way you’ve led CSK, I think it’s a pretty easy decision.”
The panel discussed a few more Indian batsmen who could stake a claim to that position, with Uthappa naming Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, while Parthiv recognized Shikhar Dhawan’s consistency. However, Raina was the eventual choice.
