Chris Gayle, a former West Indies batter and a legend in the T20 format, holds the world record for the highest individual score in the format – 175* (66) in the 2013 IPL edition. While several big hitters have come close to breaking his record, Gayle believes that KL Rahul, his former teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings, has the potential to achieve the feat.
Highest individual T20 scores:
175* (66) – Chris Gayle on this day in 2013 _
172 (76) – Aaron Finch v Zimbabwe, 2018
162* (71) – Hamilton Masakadza v Eages, 2016
162* (62) – Hazratullah Zazai v Ireland, 2019https://t.co/k3kS7JP9yA
— _Flashscore Cricket Commentators (@FlashCric) April 23, 2021
Gayle, who recently spoke to JioCinema on ‘Legend Speak’, acknowledged that Rahul has the ability to break his record. He highlighted that Rahul is a dangerous batsman in the death overs and if he manages to score a big hundred, he could achieve the feat. Gayle further stated that records are meant to be broken, and it is only a matter of time before someone surpasses his record.
“For one I think KL Rahul! On his day, he can do it. I don’t think he believes in his ability to get that big score but listen to me, we all have seen KL Rahul on the go and if he decided to bat like that sometimes, if not most times which I’d love to see, he definitely can get that. Because when he gets from 15th to the 20th [over], he is very dangerous down there at the death as well, batting-wise. If he gets a good start and gets a big hundred he can definitely get past 175,” Gayle said.
Gayle’s confidence in Rahul’s abilities is not unfounded. The Indian opener has already shown his potential as a T20 batsman, with a highest score of 132* against his former franchise, RCB, while playing for Kings XI Punjab in the 2020 IPL edition. With over 5000 runs in the T20 format, Rahul has already established himself as one of the best batsmen in the world.
Gayle’s faith in Rahul’s abilities comes as a testament to the latter’s talent and skill as a T20 batsman. While Gayle’s record may stand for now, it is only a matter of time before someone like Rahul breaks it. As Gayle rightly pointed out, records are meant to be broken, and it is only a matter of time before someone surpasses his record.
