'Absolutely astonished' - Sunil Gavaskar, Kevin Pietersen in shock as KL Rahul-led PBKS snub Chris Gayle on his birthday

In match 32 of IPL 2021, KL Rahul-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) failed to complete their 186-run chase versus Sanju Samson's Rajasthan Royals (RR) despite being at 120 for no loss at one stage and needing only 4 runs in the final six balls. As a result, PBKS lost the contest by two runs despite dominating the proceedings during the second-half of the riveting contest.

While Rahul (49) and Mayank Agarwal (67) had set the stage for the rest of the batting line-up, Punjab failed to cross the line despite the presence of Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Deepak Hooda in the final overs. While Punjab have only themselves to blame for their dramatic loss, Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen criticised the team management's thinking on overlooking birthday boy Chris Gayle and keeping him out of the playing XI.

"There will be some questions asked. I don’t understand why you would leave Chris Gayle out on his birthday. If there was one game you were going to play him, it was this one. If he failed then you say ‘ok, you can have a bit of rest’. So I can’t understand the thinking at all," Pietersen said on Star Sports.

"I, like KP, am absolutely astonished that Chris Gayle is not playing today. The four overseas players that have been picked today, can play brilliantly and win the game for Punjab Kings today. But the fact remains that on your birthday, you are leaving one of the stellar players of T20 format. Not just in IPL – the CPL, the Big Bash. You name it, every single T20 league he has dominated. And you drop him for this game om on his birthday, it makes zero sense," explained Gavaskar.

For the unversed, Gayle was part of PBKS' XI in all the eight matches in the first leg, in India. However, the swashbuckling left-hander couldn't cross the 50-run mark in eight innings, ending the first-half with 178 runs at 25.42. Nonetheless, leaving him out -- that too on his birthday -- surely raises eyebrows.