When it comes to hard hitting, nobody can match Chris Gayle: Kohli

Virat Kohli himself might be in the best form of his career, but the Royal Challengers player says that when it comes to hard hitting nobody can match the exploits of his IPL team-mate Chris Gayle. “I understand that it's better to play to your own strengths rather than emulating someone like Chris because matching him is almost impossible. Only he can bat like that," said Kohli, according to a report in The Tribune. “Chris Gayle is the hardest hitter of the cricket ball in the world,” he added.

Kohli admitted that batting with the talismanic opener could be extremely intimidating. “The most difficult thing is to keep yourself safe!,” he said jokingly. “On a serious note, batting with someone like Gayle can be very intimidating. When you see him batting like that at the other end, you might get bogged down with the pressure of coping with his strike-rate,” says a report in The Times Of India.

According to a report in The Tribune, Piyush Chawla has the look of a person who despite not totally letting go off his boyish mannerisms, has yet broken into a man's world. “He, and his franchise Kings XI Punjab, it seems, are breaking on to the scene at the same time. There is a fresh, reinvigorated spirit about both, and it is not without reason,” says the paper.

Chawla says that his team is training hard and the boys are trying their level best to up their performances from last year. “If you compare it to last year, we have quality bowlers as well. The balance is much better this time around. There are also some players who have been dominant on the domestic scene and we are all excited to be playing together as a team.”