Gayle says that the finest Indian bowler in the IPL is “very exceptional,” ranking him above Harbhajan and Ashwin.

Fans have always been engaged in the GOAT argument in any sport. Senior cricketers Suresh Raina, Chris Gayle, Robin Uthappa, Anil Kumble, Parthiv Patel, and Scott Styris gathered together to vote on the greatest players in Indian Premier League history. One of those discussions was who the greatest Indian bowler in IPL history was. Several names were mentioned, but Gayle put a stop to the discussion by mentioning the toughest bowler he had ever encountered.

If either Harbhajan Singh or R Ashwin is included in either of your predictions, they are both wrong. Given that Gayle has been out of the game five times in the IPL, it seems logical to include the two off-spinners, with Ashwin being the more hazardous owing to his average of only 10.6. Despite being the hardest opponent the Windies star has ever faced, Gayle selected a bowler who has never removed him.

Raina, Uthappa, Parthiv, both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Amit Mishra threw out names like Harbhajan, Zaheer Khan, and Yuzvendra Chahal. Styris, who was mediating the discussion, asked Gayle to identify the toughest person he had ever met.

Without a doubt, bumrah. I’d prefer Bumrah to an off-spinner like Bhajji or Ashwin. You just cannot dispute Raina’s accolades from Anil Kumble and the panel as the best Indian batting in IPL history. After clarifying his position, Styris went to Raina and said, in his own words, “Your match-winning talent and the way you’ve led CSK, I feel it’s a very straightforward conclusion.”

The panel highlighted a few other Indian batters who may contend for that spot; Uthappa mentioned Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, while Parthiv praised Shikhar Dhawan for his dependability. But Raina ended up getting the job.