India batting great, Sachin Tendulkar, has expressed surprise at the decision taken by Kings XI Punjab to leave West Indies star Chris Gayle on the bench for the majority of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season thus far.

In fact, the 41-year-old big hitter only just made his first appearance in the IPL this season on Thursday, against Royal Challengers Bangalore, with KXIP having previously played seven games.  Their results in those fixtures, many would argue, should have necessitated a much quicker introduction to the line-up for the 'Universe Boss' with the team having won just one of those games.

On debut, Gayle smashed 53 runs from 45 balls, a total that included five 6s, as the team coasted to an 8-wicket win.  The win was a first in five games.

“Good to see @henrygayle back and scoring a wonderful 53. Wonder what @lionsdenkxip were thinking by leaving him out all this while,” Tendulkar said via social media platform Twitter.

Gayle was expected to have been included in the line-up in the previous week but was hospitalised after experiencing a stomach illness.  There has been little information regarding why the player was kept out the line-up at the start of the season and for so many games subsequent.  KXIP will next play Mumbai Indians on Sunday, where the player is expected to feature again.