Chris Gayle predicts a great future ahead for KL Rahul

Arguably the greatest T20 batsman in the world, swashbuckling Caribbean opener Chris Gayle showered praises on his Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Lokesh Rahul. Speaking to the Times of India, the Jamaican giant said that Rahul is one of the very few players who can challenge Virat Kohli in terms of batsmanship and work ethic.

“Rahul is a super player and has been scoring runs in all formats of the game. He is definitely one for the future. Rahul is someone who will be a match for Virat Kohli. Rahul works extremely hard on his fitness and on his game. He is definitely going great guns and all he needs to do is keep working hard and results will follow.”

Lokesh Rahul has been in scintillating form and in his very short career has already scored centuries in all 3 formats. The Karnataka lad scored a brilliant century in the Test series against West Indies and followed it up with another magnificent century in the T20 series in the United States.

Speaking on how he approaches different formats of the game Gayle said, “When I look at both formats of the game, I feel we fail to concentrate for longer periods of time (in Tests). This has been the case since the time I made my debut under Brian Lara. We only play (quality) cricket for short sessions and we win a session here or there. And then, we switch off and that’s why we tend to lose a lot of Test matches.”

“Having patience and batting for long sessions is something that’s been lacking in West Indies Test team. That’s not the case in T20s as we have the experience and the talent to go the distance. With regards to me playing Tests -yes, it’s a possibility. The talks are on and we will have to wait and see what happens.” The party freak left-hander said.

Finally speaking about the future of West Indies cricket, Gayle was delighted with the resources they have in T20 cricket. “From the men’s point of view, Chris Gayle is there (laughs)! That’s a huge impact. From the women’s team’s point of view, Stephanie Taylor is there – a fantastic player as well. Most of the players in our side play T20 competitions all over the world and have the experience needed to play in this format. We are a naturally gifted T20 side with some superb fielders and great all-rounders.”