Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Punjab Kings suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday to start their Ahmedabad leg on a losing note. While it was a forgettable outing for the men in red and golden, it seems like they have been handed another major blow in the ongoing campaign.
Gayle leaves the field against KKR
As KKR were cruising towards the modest target of 124, Dinesh Karthik smashed a brilliant boundary of the bowling of Arshdeep Singh in the 17th over. While the match was done and dusted by then, the replays provided the actual worrying sign for Punjab Kings. The cameras showed the footage of Chris Gayle sitting in the dugout with a taping on his left hand. The Universe Boss did produce some valiant efforts on the field on Monday and could have got the injury during one of those attempts.
Watch the video here:
Will Gayle be available for next match?
Punjab Kings will now play their next match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday. While the extent of injury is not yet confirmed, there is a high possibility that KL Rahul's side might think about resting the Universe Boss for a few games. While the 41-year-old has played a few vital knocks for PBKS this season, he hasn't looked at his absolute best. Gayle registered a golden duck against KKR and the injury could be a blessing in disguise for the explosive cricketer to get some needed rest to come back stronger in the later half of the tournament. In such a case, it is expected that England batsman Dawid Malan might be included in the Punjab side for the upcoming games in Ahmedabad.