Legendary RCB batter Chris Gayle sprung a few surprises as he picked his all-time IPL Playing XI. While the Universe Boss picked himself as one of the openers, he left out seasoned IPL players like Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya.

Chris Gayle's Playing XI has four players who has represented RCB which is a big surprise given the team's lack of trophies so far. He has picked himself to open the batting alongside the IPL's highest run-scorer Virat Kohli.

Chris Gayle picks all-time IPL Playing XI

During a conversation with InsideSport, Chris Gayle was asked to pick his all-time best IPL Playing XI. He picked himself to open the batting alongside his long-time friend and former RCB teammate Virat Kohli.

Having Kohli in this line-up is a no-brainer as the right-hander is easily one of the best players of the league. Kohli has been extremely consistent ever since he started playing in the league back in 2008.

Gayle named Mr. IPL Suresh Raina at No. 3. Raina was instrumental in CSK's success during the initial years of IPL and scored loads of runs for the franchise while batting in that position. He was a big-match player for the franchise and scored important runs in the knockout games.

Chris Gayle picked AB de Villiers to bat at No. 4 in this line-up. De Villiers is also a former teammate of Gayle and shares a good relationship with him. De Villiers played several match-defining knocks for the franchise and was one of the best in this format.

Surprisingly, allrounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked at No. 5 while MS Dhoni is slotted at No. 6. Jadeja usually bats at No. 6 or 7 for CSK, and having him up the order was a surprise. Dhoni has been picked by Gayle as the captain of this team.

Dhoni has led CSK to five IPL trophies and is also seen as the best finisher in the league. He has scored more than 5000 runs in the tournament and has been highly consistent despite batting lower down the order.

World-class bowling line-up

West Indies all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine have been picked as the all-round options in this Playing XI. Bravo will play the role of a pace bowling allrounder and is also very capable at the death.

Meanwhile, Narine's mystery spin always makes him a threat to the opposition batters. Chris Gayle picked Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the two frontline fast bowlers in this team.

Bumrah is arguably the best bowler across formats currently in the world with his varied skills while Bhuvneshwar has plenty of experience and has tasted success in the IPL. Bhuvneshwar has also had a fair amount of success against Gayle in the league.

Last but not least, Gayle picked Yuzvendra Chahal as the specialist spinner in his team. Chahal is the highest-wicket taker in IPL history and the only one to surpass the 200-wicket milestone in the league.

Chris Gayle's all-time IPL Playing XI

Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, AB de Villiers, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C) (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Sunil Narine, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal