‘Missing Gayle Storm on his birthday’ – Twitterati slam Punjab Kings for dropping Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle dropped from the line-up on his birthday.
Fans were left disappointed as Punjab Kings omitted Chris Gayle in their first match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021’s leg. The KL Rahul-led side resumed their campaign against Rajasthan Royals at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. During the toss session, Rahul revealed Gayle is not among the four foreign players in the line-up and the decision left the fans in shock.
After all, Gayle is one of the most destructive batters going around. He also did exceptionally well in IPL 2020 which also took place in UAE. Hence, PBKS’ strategy didn’t go down well with netizens. Interestingly, 21 September 2021, also marks Gayle’s 42nd birthday. Hence, fans were excited to see the ‘Universe Boss’ in action on his special day. However, that didn’t happen as the southpaw failed to make it Punjab’s final XI.
Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran picked ahead of Chris Gayle
Gayle, who has been an opener for the major part of his career, has been occupying the number three spot for PBKS since the 2020 season. He has also done well in that role. Hence, his place in the Playing XI seemed inevitable. However, the Punjab Kings management came up with a different plan. Instead of Gayle, the management gave the number three spot to new-recruit Aiden Markram with Nicholas Pooran next in the batting order. All-rounder Fabien Allen and leg-spinner Adil Rashid are the other two players in the Punjab line-up.
As far as numbers are concerned, Gayle did decently in the first half of IPL 2021. In eight outings, the swashbuckler smashed 178 with his strike rate reading 133.83. However, it seems like an average performance in the recently-concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2021 prompted Punjab’s decision.
Playing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Gayle slammed 165 runs in nine games with his average and strike rate being below 20 and 130 respectively. It also should be noted the left-handed batter is in the twilight of his career. Hence, it would be interesting to see when he takes the field this season.
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings have a job in hand in the UAE leg of the competition. After all, they blew hot and cold in the first leg. With three wins in eight games, the side was sixth in the team standings at the time of season suspension. Hence, they would like to kick-start the UAE leg with a win.
Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitterati reacted to Chris Gayle’s omission:
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