No grudge against Shah Rukh Khan, he’s a loving man: Chris Gayle

Kolkata Knight Riders had decided against retaining Chris Gayle, who is now flourishing playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, but the West Indies batsman says he has no hard feelings for Kolkata Knight Riders owners, says a report in The Indian Express, adding the Jamaican was seen exchanging pleasantries with his KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan after their match and Gayle said he has no grudge against the Knight Riders.

Describing Khan as a "very friendly" person, Gayle said: "Obviously, I had been a part of KKR (few years ago). He (Shah Rukh) is a respectable and loving man. I was just happy to see him again. There is no grudge. We are all family. In the middle, you are fighting a battle and both teams would want to win. But in this format, there is never going to be a grudge." Gayle's 86 off 58 balls was not enough to see Royal Challengers Bangalore through while chasing 191 as they lost by 47 runs in their return leg fixture against KKR here last night.

Hindustan Times writes that for over a decade, Harbhajan Singhwas one half of India’s famed spin twins. “When Anil Kumble pegged away at the other end, Harbhajan Singh provided variety, and the opposition sensed danger if the pitch afforded bounce or if he struck early. All those achievements appear eons away. Dropped from the India team due to poor form and injury during last year’s disastrous England tour, the off-spinner has continued to struggle at lower levels. Instead of fighting back, he seems to be slipping into oblivion,” adds HT.

“Out of the India equation, the wickets’ column has stayed barren. And after another wicketless spell in the defeat against the Delhi Daredevils, the Mumbai Indians’ skipper looked forlorn and under pressure,” says the article.

Meanwhile Harbhajan Singh in his column in The Times Of India writes that full marks to Delhi for executing their plans well and they rightly deserve to be on top of the table. “For us it was another learning experience and this kind of defeat will push us to work on our grey areas before entering the business end of the tournament. We are halfway through in the IPL with four wins and four defeats. Looking at our side and resources, I won’t hesitate to say we could have done better,” Harbhajan writes after Mumbai Indians loss to Delhi Daredevils.

“In the last game against Delhi, we were up against a very formidable batting lineup on a very good batting wicket. Virender Sehwag and Mahela Jayawardene came hard at us. Forget about the bad deliveries, even the good ones were dispatched to the boundary with so much ease. Viru is in real good touch and he is making the most of it.”