Is Chris Gayle supporting Punjab Kings or RCB? Cricket icon's look in turban goes viral ahead of IPL final

West Indies cricket legend Chris Gayle has thrown his support behind both Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) — his former IPL teams — ahead of their high-voltage IPL 2025 showdown at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday.

In an Instagram post, Gayle was seen donning a turban to show his backing for PBKS, while also sporting an RCB jersey and customised shoes in the iconic Red and Gold, reflecting his bond with the Bengaluru franchise.

"Let The Game Begin! RCB v PBKS #OneIndia #IPL #Finals #2025," posted Gayle on Instagram.


https://www.instagram.com/p/DKcHEfIOE_J/?hl=en&img_index=1

Gayle has represented both RCB and PBKS in his illustrious IPL career. For RCB from 2011-17, Gayle scored 3,163 runs in 85 matches and 84 innings at an average of 43.33, with a strike rate of 152.73. He scored five centuries and 19 fifties, with the best score of 175*.

In 41 matches and innings for PBKS for 2018-21, he scored 1,339 runs at an average of 36.19, with a strike rate of over 143.21. He scored a century and 10 fifties for RCB, with the best score of 104*.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru were the first team to qualify for the final. They finished the league stage in second spot with 19 points from 14 games before beating Punjab Kings by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 to book their berth in the final.

Virat Kohli has been RCB's go-to man with the bat this season, having accumulated 614 runs at an average of 55.82 and a strike rate of 146.53 this season, with eight half-centuries.

On the bowling front, Josh Hazlewood has been their leading wicket-taker with 21 scalps in 11 games at an average of 15.80 and an economy of 8.30.

Punjab Kings, meanwhile, topped the league stage with 19 points from 14 games and a better net run rate than RCB.

However, PBKS lost their Qualifier 1 game against RCB, and faced Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 2 clash, which they won by five wickets to secure their spot in the summit match.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer has been Punjab Kings' best batter this season with 603 runs at an average of 54.82 and a strike rate of 175.80.

Squads
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Blessing Muzarabani, Nuwan Thushara, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash. (ANI)