Sourav Ganguly lauds Ashwin's call to pick Gayle, feels Kings XI now a stronger side

When Kings XI Punjab made a bid for West Indian Chris Gayle after his name appeared for the third time at the fag end of day 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, the people present during the auction made a loud cheer. None of the eight franchises were initially willing to bid for him earlier in the auction.

However, Sehwag-led Kings XI management eventually made the bid and brought the batsman for his base price of 2 crores. Gayle wasn’t the first choice for Kings XI Punjab which was obvious as they went for him at the last moment. However, with likes of David Miller and Marcus Stoinis struggling to leave an impact, Ravichandran Ashwin decided to draft the big West Indian as an opener while Mayank Agarwal was dropped down the batting order.

Kings XI looking strong side: Ganguly

The inclusion of Gayle turned out to be a masterstroke as the 34-year-old has already hit a ton and a couple of half-centuries in 3 games that he has played for his new franchise. Former India skipper Saurav Ganguly has showered praises for the Punjab skipper for the move and Gayle for his superb performance. According to Ganguly, with Gayle in such a touch, Kings XI looks a very strong side.

The Jamaican smashed a half-century on his IPL return against Chennai Super Kings and bettered his performance to a ton against Sun Risers Hyderabad. Both Gayle and KL Rahul then hit half-centuries in their win against Kolkata Knight Riders.

KXIP will take on Gautam Gambhir led Delhi Daredevils in their next encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi with the aim to pip CSK from the top of the table. Punjab stands at number 2 on the points table as CSK have a better net run rate.

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