Former IPL winning captain Gautam Gambhir feels Punjab Kings (PBKS) should continue with Chris Gayle in the playing XI despite consecutive failures with the bat. Gayle, who scored 40 against Rajasthan Royals, has managed only 10, 11. and 15 in the last three matches.

Punjab's batting has collapsed twice in the IPL 2021 and they may replace Gayle with the current number 1 T20I batsman Dawid Malan. But Gambhir is still in favour of playing the Caribbean batsman for the upcoming matches. 

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"Absolutely not. I think there is no comparison, Chris Gayle in T20 cricket in comparison to Dawid Malan. Yes, he might be the No. 1 T20 cricketer in the world but you got to look at the conditions as well. If you've got to make him bat at No. 3, he's going to struggle at Chepauk. And Chris Gayle again, we've been seeing match after match, season after season, that if he is in the Playing XI, he should be opening the batting," Gambhir said on ESPNCricinfo.

Gayle is asked to bat at the number three position in Punjab's batting line-up and Gambhir thinks he should be given the opening spot. 

"At both the venues, Chris Gayle should have opened the batting in Mumbai because had he played those 60 balls, he would have gotten a hundred. And more importantly at Chepauk because the first six overs need to be capitalised, and who better than Gayle? You can't ask him to rotate strike after six overs but if he is in till the seventh over, he can take on someone," he added.

(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)