Virat Kohli was still finding his feet in the world of cricket when Chris Gayle joined the Royal Challengers as an injury replacement in 2011.
So far, with all their time playing together for the Indian Premier League, the respect they have for each other has quadrupled.
And with Kohli’s recent career best 235 score at the Wankhede Stadium, the respect and admiration Gayle has for the Indian Test Captain has only increased.
In an interview with HT recently in India on the sidelines of the USL Diageo road safety campaign, Gayle touched on a number of topics, including the proposal by MCC on the limitation of the size of bats, the problems facing cricket in the West Indies and a few more topics.s
When asked about the proposal on ground that plans to reduce/regulate the thickness of the bat, Gayle said,
“It doesn’t matter. Give me a toothpick, a knife or a fork, I will still hit sixes. Size doesn’t matter. Trust me, it is all about the weapon. They can cut down my size, but they can’t cut down my sixes.”
Gayle is also of the belief that the recent double century from Kohli in the Tests is just a tip of the iceberg as there are a lot more knocks that would come from him in the coming years. He however hopes the upcoming cricketing youngsters can learn from him and follow his example.
The Indian cricketer also talked about his secret; how he was able to party and still play the next day, attributing this capability to the rest he usually takes. He says he sleeps around 6am until 3.30pm or 4pm, after which, he practices at a particular time before staying up all night.