Chris Gayle on his love for India & evolution of cricketing culture in country following inception of IPL

Gayle
is
not
only
one
of
the
greatest
T20
batsman
ever,
but
very
few
cricketers
–
past
or
present
–
come
close
to
matching
his
charisma.

The
colossal
benchmarks
set
by
the
West
Indies
stalwart
will
be
difficult
to
surpass.
And
true
to
his
ways,
Gayle
proclaimed
he’s
the
King
in
a
conversation
with
Robin
Uthappa
in
the
‘Home
of
Heroes’ episode
on
JioCinema.

Gayle
has
a
massive
following
in
India
and
the
TATA
IPL
record
books
speak
for
themselves.
He
revealed
to
Uthappa
that
he
made
his
debut
for
West
Indies
‘A’
in
Pune,
his
first
experience
of
travelling
to
India.

Gayle
on
first
class
debut

“When
I
made
my
(First
Class)
debut,
they
were
like
‘Chris,
you
have
to
travel
to
India.’ First
time
travelling
by
myself
and
going
to
India,
we
went
to
Pune
at
the
time.
Ian
Bishop
was
the
captain,”
he
recalled.

“25
years
ago,
I
still
feel
like
I
am
25!
I
have
been
coming
here
a
long,
long
time
and
played
against
some
guys.
I
don’t
remember
the
names,
but
I
played
against
an
off-spinner
named
(Nikhil)
Chopra
and
Bhajji
as
well.”

Gayle
also
elaborated
on
his
love
for
India
and
the
evolution
of
Indian
cricketing
culture.

“Who
would’ve
thought
that
from
making
my
First-Class
debut
in
India
and
over
the
next
20
years
you’re
coming
back
and
forth
to
India
consistently.
Then
the
IPL
came,
and
I
was
a
part
of
it.
Now
I
am
not
in
the
IPL,
but
I
am
still
coming
to
India.
India!
I
ain’t
leaving
guys!
I
love
India,” Gayle
added.

“There
are
some
fantastic
players
like
yourself
(Uthappa),
and
the
young
players
like
to
hang
around
me
because
I
like
to
talk
a
lot
and
they
like
to
laugh.

“I
like
seeing
people
smile.
I
will
just
talk
to
them,
give
them
good
advice
and
be
like
‘you
know
what,
you
have
to
enjoy
yourself’.

“I
know
you
guys,
everybody
is
passionate,
but
when
it
comes
to
the
Indian
culture,
the
guys
are
tight
and
tense
because
the
competition
is
so
stiff.
I
realize
Indian
players
open
up
more
now.
You
guys
were
very
reserved,
but
you
guys
are
more
bold
and
stand
out.”

Gayle
recalls
175
vs
Pune
Warriors

The
43-year-old
also
spoke
about
his
history-making
175
for
Royal
Challengers
Bangalore
against
the
Pune
Warriors
in
2013,
something
that
Uthappa
witnessed
first-hand
as
a
member
of
the
now-defunct
squad.

“A
special
day,
not
only
for
me
but
for
the
fans
as
well.
When
I
hear
so
many
stories
about
that
particular
day,
it
was
like
the
world
stopped.
It
was
like
when
Usain
Bolt
ran
that
100m
and
everything
stood
still…
I
am
glad
to
be
a
part
of
history.
Scoring
100
off
30
balls.”

Uthappa
credited
Gayle,
AB
de
Villiers,
and
MS
Dhoni
for
cultural
changes
before
they
both
agreed
that
the
IPL
had
made
a
huge
difference
to
the
approach
of
Indian
players,
who
now
share
dressing
rooms
with
an
increasing
number
of
international
players.

Gayle
later
went
on
to
talk
about
his
international
debut
in
Toronto
in
a
tri-series
that
involved
India
and
Pakistan.
However,
he
had
little
impact
in
his
first
game
against
Pakistan,
batting
lower
down
the
order
and
getting
bowled
out
cheaply.

He
also
spoke
about
the
legends
of
West
Indies
cricket
like
Brian
Lara
and
their
influence
on
his
career.
The
riveting
conversation
took
fans
through
Gayle’s
rise
in
the
international
set-up
and
especially
how
his
T20
success
came
about.

This
included
him
talking
about
the
bats
he
used
during
his
career
and
a
montage
that
showed
Uthappa
bowling
to
Gayle,
who
is
seen
smashing
the
ball
around
the
park.

Gayle
on
having
a
piece
of
every
fast
bowler
he
faced

Towards
the
end
of
the
conversation,
Gayle
spoke
about
the
best
bowlers
he
has
played
against
before
letting
everyone
know
that
he
was
the
king
during
his
prime.

“I
enjoy
all
fast
bowlers
because
as
an
opening
batsman,
it’s
a
competition
for
me.
I
want
to
outduel
the
best.
Once
you
do
that,
the
rest
will
crumble
around
you.
If
you
dominate
their
best
fast
bowler,
those
to
come
are
shaking
in
their
pants.

“I
like
to
capitalize
on
that
because
if
I
take
down
the
main
bowler,
you
have
this
guy
or
this
guy
coming
after.
It’s
not
gonna
work
all
the
time
but
that’s
my
kind
of
mentality.
I
came
across
some
great
fast
bowlers
in
my
international
career
up
until
my
last
World
Cup.

“It
was
fantastic
man…
I
win
most
battles
against
fast
bowlers.
I
am
the
king;
I
am
the
winner.
Any
fast
bowler
objects
to
that,
come
see
me.
We
can
sit
one-on-one,
we
can
go
into
the
ring
and
punch
it
out
or
we
can
have
a
talk.
One
winner.
Every
single
fast
bowler,
I
have
had
a
piece
of
them.”

Gayle
and
Uthappa
wound
the
conversation
up
with
the
former
naming
bowlers
he
has
struggled
against,
specifically
naming
Sri
Lankan
great
Chaminda
Vaas
who
got
rid
of
him
five
times
in
one
Test
series.