Gayle and Watson bury differences for RCB
Chris Gayle and Shane Watson, who will be playing together for RCB in the IPL, have decided to “move forward” burying their differences for the sake of the team. Speaking to the media on Sunday, Watson admitted about the “run-ins” the duo had in the past and opened up about their new partnership.
Gayle and Watson have had an acrimonious past with the pair crossing swords a few times. The pair first clashed during the Test match between West Indies and Australia at Perth, back in 2009, after Watson gave Gayle an angry send-off. Gayle later said in an interview that, “He (Watson) only looks big and strong but he's soft.”
The swashbuckling batsmen once again came against each other, earlier this year, with Watson speaking out against Chris Gayle’s controversial interview during the Big Bash League. “I know Chris Gayle fairly well so that sort of thing is expected,” Watson said.
But, the duo have patched up their differences after they became team-mates at Royal Challengers Bangalore. Speaking to the media on Sunday at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, Watson admitted that he and Gayle had a few run-ins in the past, but have buried their differences for the sake of the team.
“It's amazing how the world works and how life works. Chris Gayle and myself have certainly had a few run-ins throughout our international careers. The day I got picked up by RCB in the auction, I saw Chris during the PSL. That was the day we had to bury the hatchet (laughs), knowing that I was going to be playing with him.
"You're competing on the field...[and then] as soon as things change and you're on the same team, everyone puts everything aside and moves forward. I've always had the utmost respect for him as a player. So it's nice to get to know him personally off the field, and you move forward," Watson was quoted as saying by Sportstarlive.com.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will play their first match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Tuesday.
(Also, read about Royal Challenger's Bangalore's run in the past eight editions of IPL)