Kings XI Punjab's veteran West Indian batsman Chris Gayle has returned to training after spending last week recovering from a stomach bug.
The 41-year-old started training on Monday and is likely to be available for Kings XI Punjab’s next game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday.
According to the franchise, Gayle suffered a stomach infection that kept him out of action. He was also admitted to hospital, but has now made a full recovery.
Gayle was initially set to play against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but couldn’t do so due to the ailment.
“Chris looks very much ready and is keen to get on to the park, he has been training really well and has looked really good in the nets,” batting coach Wasim Jaffer told Kings XI Punjab's official website.
Including Gayle in Kings XI's top order will be difficult as openers Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul are in superb form, having both scored centuries.
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Most and least valuable players so far this IPL season
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MOST VALUABLE BATSMEN: KL Rahul (KXIP): Innings: 7, Runs: 387, Avg: 64.50, SR: 134.84. The Kings XI Punjab batsman is in red-hot form, with one century, three fifties and no single-digit score. Sportzpics for BCCI -
Faf du Plessis (CSK): Innings: 7, Runs: 307, Avg: 61.40, SR: 147.59. Just one failure with the bat so far and batting with complete freedom. But even when he has fired on all cylinders, Chennai have somehow ended up losing, showing how badly some of his colleagues have played. Sportzpics for BCCI -
Mayank Agarwal (KXIP): Innings: 7, Runs: 337, Avg: 48.14, SR: 158.96. The Punjab batsman has proven that with a good technique, even supposed Test specialists can conquer the 20-over format. Sportzpics for BCCI -
LEAST VALUABLE BATSMEN: Kedar Jadhav (CSK): Innings: 4, Runs: 58, Avg: 19.33, SR: 98.30. It's a pain to watch Jadhav bat at the moment. Since he is a lower order batsman, he has to bat at a high rate from the start, which he has failed to do. His unbeaten seven from 12 balls during the 10-run defeat to Kolkata encapsulates his season so far. Sportzpics for BCCI -
Andre Russell (KKR): Innings: 6, Runs: 71, Avg: 11.83, SR: 142. Last season, Russell smashed over 500 runs from 14 games at an average of over 55 and a strike rate above 200. That seems a long time ago. He is so out of form this year, Kolkata are using him mainly as a bowler. Sportzpics for BCCI -
Glenn Maxwell (KXIP): Innings: 7, Runs: 58, Avg: 14.50, SR: 95.08. He came within millimetres of hitting a game-changing six against Kolkata. But even so, a strike rate of below 100 for a blockbuster batsman like Maxwell is a poor return. At least he is excellent in the field and offers good off-spin bowling. Sportzpics for BCCI -
MOST VALUABLE BOWLERS: Washington Sundar (RCB): Innings: 7, Wickets: 5, Avg: 21.6, Econ: 4.9. For a finger spinner to have an economy of under five an over, and that while also bowling in the power play overs, deserves full marks and a bonus point. The most valuable bowler in IPL 2020. Sportzpics for BCCI -
Rashid Khan (SRH): Innings: 7, Wickets: 10, Avg: 14.10, Econ: 5.03. Close behind Sundar is Afghan spinner Khan who seems to have regained his touch after losing the novelty factor over the past few editions. Ten wickets, at five an over, is a captain's dream. Sportzpics for BCCI -
Kagiso Rabada and Axar Patel (DC): Rabada: Innings, 7, Wickets: 17, Avg: 12.52, Econ: 7.69. Patel: Innings: 6, Wickets: 6, Avg: 16.00, SR: 5.05. A tie for the third position. At one side you have the unstoppable striking capacity of Rabada, who might go for a few runs but will pick up two wickets per game. On the other end, the miserly left-arm spin of Axar that guarantees four quiet overs for the captain. Sportzpics for BCCI -
LEAST VALUABLE BOWLERS: Ravindra Jadeja (CSK): Innings: 6, Wickets: 3, Avg: 59.66, Econ: 8.95. On paper, should have dominated on UAE's dry pitches and vast outfields. In reality, has been ordinary with the ball. Given his value in the team, the biggest disappointment so far. Sportzpics for BCCI -
Tom Curran (RR): Innings: 5, Wickets: 3, Avg: 69.33, Econ: 11.44. There is bad, then there's this. An economy of nearly 12 an over means you are leaking almost 50 runs every match. No team can carry that sort of a burden. Sportzpics for BCCI -
Shreyas Gopal (RR): Innings: 7, Wickets: 4, Avg: 58.50, Econ: 9.00. Attacking leg-spinners have been tough to negotiate this year. But not if you are Gopal. The Rajasthan leg-spinner has been easily negotiated and you can't even say he went for runs in lieu of wickets. Sportzpics for BCCI
