New Delhi, Dec. 5: The Kolkata Knight Riders in all likelihood will be retaining explosive West Indies opener Chris Gayle for the upcoming fourth edition of Indian Premier League.
Although there were talks that the franchise will allow its current players to go under the hammer the Shah Rukh Khan co-owned franchise are seriously thinking of retaining Gayle, a proven match-winner.
“It’s only logical that KKR would retain Gayle. You simply can’t ignore the impact he has on a match if he gets going. He has a strike-rate of close to 145 in this format and Twenty20 is all about impact. Also he is an effective off-spinner,” an official who closely monitors the proceedings of the Kolkata franchise said on Sunday.
“With Delhi Daredevils set to retain Virender Sehwag, Mumbai Indians keeping Sachin Tendulkar and Chennai Super Kings having Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it’s imperative that KKR also has one match-winner on board,” he added.
KKR officials have their own reasons to retain the West Indian. “Once, he (Gayle) is in the auctions, is there any guarantee that KKR will be able to retain him?” the source questioned.