Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Chris Gayle has named three Indian players along with one retired West Indies cricketer as potential challengers to his long-standing record for the highest individual score in T20 cricket.
Representing RCB in the 2013 IPL, Gayle had set the benchmark with a staggering unbeaten 175 off just 66 balls, which included 13 fours and 17 sixes, against the Pune Warriors at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
On Sunday, September 7, Shubhankar Mishra uploaded a YouTube video featuring Gayle as a special guest. During the chat, the 45-year-old was asked about who, in his view, might be capable of surpassing that remarkable feat. Gayle replied:
“I think it will happen in the IPL because these youngsters are savage these days. You look at the scoring rate as well, how these guys are scoring. Nicholas Pooran, I think, even Shubman Gill can do that as well because he’s a very, very good player. And once you get going, Yashasvi Jaiswal. Well, I like Jaiswal as well. This other guy from SRH, Abhishek Sharma.”
Chris Gayle Remembers His Surprise RCB Call-Up In 2011
At the same time, he shared the story of how he got his Royal Challengers Bengaluru call-up in the 2011 IPL. Chris Gayle had initially gone unsold at the auction but was later drafted in as a replacement for the injured Dirk Nannes. Remembering that occasion, he mentioned:
“I was in the nightclub, you know, pretty much back, but I wasn’t trained. I wasn’t playing any cricket at all. In the nightclub, I got a call. Who was it on the line? It was Vijay Mallya and Anil Kumble at the time. I’m like, ‘Okay, Chris, are you fit?’ I’m like, ‘Is this for real? Yeah, I’m fit.’ They said, ‘Okay, if you’re fit, what we need you to do is go to the embassy tomorrow and get your visa, man.'”
“I said, ‘Hey, tomorrow’s Saturday, the embassy doesn’t open on a Saturday.’ They said, ‘Don’t worry about that, just turn up.’ I said, ‘Okay, done.’ You know, I turned up, went to the embassy, got the visa the next day, pretty much on a flight. And then, you know, history started from there in 2011,” he added.
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