'I aim to entertain'

If one were to sit down and pen a T20 world eleven, it is a safe bet that the two names selected to open the innings in most people's judgement would be the current opening pair of the Mashrafe Bin Mortaza-led Rangpur Riders. West Indies' Chris Gayle is far and away the greatest player to weaponise a cricket bat in the shortest format and slightly behind him in terms of explosiveness and fear-inducing ability is former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, his opening partner when Rangpur take on Comilla Victorians in today's second Bangladesh Premier League match.

The fantasy pairing that spectators will eagerly watch had opened the innings together only six times till now, during their stint with Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders in 2009. They had not wreaked the destruction that they are so obviously capable of then, with a highest partnership of 57.

“We know how destructive BM [Brendon McCullum] is; it is a privilege to open the batting with him again,” the tall Jamaican said during Rangpur's training session at the BCB Academy ground in Mirpur yesterday. “We are both thinking the same. We have to work on our game plan. There's nothing to prove between me and McCullum. We just have to go out there, enjoy it and exploit the condition and play according to the situation. If a particular bowler needs to be taken down, we will work on it as much as possible.”

Gayle boasts an unnerving 18 T20 hundreds, an average of 40.5 and a strike rate of 147.97. He also has a belief-defying 30-ball hundred -- the fastest in T20 cricket -- for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013, an innings that bloomed into an unbeaten 175, the highest score in the format.

Gayle explained the philosophy behind his cricket, which as far as the style of play is concerned, could well be McCullum's credo too. 

“Most of the time I go out to bat, my objective is to entertain the fans. They have spent their money, so want to be entertained,” Gayle said. “Sometimes I get into trouble by trying to hit too many sixes. When it comes off, it is brilliant and everyone is happy. Normally I don't plan on the number of sixes in a competition. Hopefully I get off to a good start tomorrow [Saturday] and maybe set the momentum for the tournament.

“Everyone in Bangladesh wants to be entertained by two great entertainers in myself and McCullum. This is why the pressure is going to be on us. But we expect these things. The crowd is going to be very noisy. It is going to be fantastic if we can get off to a good start, hitting a lot of boundaries and get the crowd excited. Maybe the other guys can build up from it and see what total we can set or get.”

In a tournament that has not seen the best of cricket so far with one-sided matches and pitches not conducive to big hitting being the trend, a Gayle or McCullum special will do the trick. And if they both click, then it will be a special day indeed.