Chris Gayle is smart, he has brought energy to KXIP team, says Sachin

Sachin Tendulkar and Chris Gayle

Former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has said that Chris Gayle is a really smart player and the left-handed batter has brought a lot of energy to the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) team. Gayle missed the initial phase of the tournament, but he has played the last three matches for the franchise, and co-incidentally Punjab has managed to win all those matches.

"When it comes to Gayle, people only talk about his big-hitting. That everyone knows, but many guys don't notice one thing, Gayle is a very smart player. He is a big hitter no doubt but he is a clever guy. If he finds someone threatening who can get him out, he is prepared to see his over through. Then he will target one or two bowlers like he targeted Tushar Despande in the match against Delhi. He got 26 runs off that over," said Tendulkar in a video posted on his official Twitter handle.

"Gayle is a smart player, don't think that Gayle will come out and hit every ball. He does not do that, he understands the surface, he reads the pace of the surface and what the bowler is good at. When he realises that there is a bowler who he can go after, then he goes all out," he added.

Punjab is currently at the sixth place in the points table with eight points from 10 matches. The side will take on SunRisers Hyderabad later today, and the KL Rahul-led side can maintain their playoff hopes by winning the encounter against David Warner-led side.

Gayle has so far played three matches in IPL 2020 so far, managing to score 106 runs with his highest score being 53 against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

"Gayle has brought a lot of energy to the Punjab team , there are certain players with the way they play, it has a positive impact on the team and that is what has happened with Gayle coming back. KL and Mayank both have been batting well, with Gayle coming back Punjab's batting lineup becomes really good," said Tendulkar.

The left-handed Gayle is the highest run-scorer in all T20s and is viewed as the most destructive batsman to ever play the game.

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