PBKS vs RR | Twitter reacts as Punjab Kings drop Chris Gayle from playing XI on his birthday

09/21/2021

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Punjab Kings, rather surprisingly, dropped “Universe Boss” Chris Gayle from their playing XI for their first game of IPL 2021 second leg against the Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. The KL Rahul led side named Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Fabien Allen and Adil Rashid as their four overseas players.

Chris Gayle hasn’t been in the best of forms of late, having aggregated just 165 runs at 18.33 for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League. However, the dynamic left-hander has been a proven match-winner for the West Indies and various global T20 leagues, most significantly at the IPL.

Therefore, it was quite a surprise when the "Universe Boss" was overlooked by the Punjab Kings on Wednesday. Gayle, who celebrates his 42nd birthday on Wednesday, had scored 178 runs at 25.43 while maintaining a strike rate of 133.83. Whether he’ll be a major miss for the 2014 runners-up against RR, remains to be seen.

SO SAD

Chris Gayle illa dei pic.twitter.com/SPVynQsSfw
— Sanyasiᴬᴺᴺᴬᴬᵀᵀᴴᴱ (@iam_not_a_saint) September 21, 2021

CRUEL AND UNUSUAL

Birthday boy left out! That’s cruel #ChrisGayle
— Pavan’s Labyrinth (@BardOfBread) September 21, 2021

LOL

Chris Mean while - who told him🙀#PBKSvsRR #ChrisGayle #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/3Ei48B9K1n
— Abhishek soni🇮🇳 (@abhishekxyz2) September 21, 2021

MEMES KEEP COMING

#ChrisGayle not playing today because of the obvious reason!

He's in Islamabad in #Pakistan #PakistanCricket #IPL2021 #England #PBKSvRR #RRvsPBKS
— Nishant Rathore (@rathorenishant3) September 21, 2021

YES, IT IS!

Worst that The Universal Boss #ChrisGayle is not on field #PBKS VERY BAD ON HIS BDAY@ChrisGayleWI @henrygayle

it's such a shame
— suriya velan (@suriya_velan) September 21, 2021

WHY PUNJAB KINGS?

Surprised @henrygayle

Birthday gift 🎁

Why Punjab Why!#PBKSvRR #PBKSvsRR #ChrisGayle #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/BVe206ajoQ
— Arya (@Arya313131Arya) September 21, 2021

YAYY OR NAYY?

Chris Gayle not playing on his 42nd birthday, don't know why PBKs and KL Rahul opted not to include Gayle in the playing XI.

At least Gayle should get an opportunity in this match, it's our Universe Boss birthday 🎂#Gayle #ChrisGayle #UniverseBoss #PBKSvsRR https://t.co/QY7CQC1bTi
— Vikas Kohli (@imvikaskohli) September 21, 2021

HAPPY BIRTHDAY