With the Indian Premier League (IPL) set to begin on September 19, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) seem to have picked up their training intensity, as shown in the recent social media posts. KXIP posted a video of a training session between Mohammed Shami and Chris Gayle in the nets. The video was captioned as, "Pace battery vs #GayleStorm #SaddaPunjab #Dream11IPL @MdShami11 @henrygayle". In the video, Indian pacer Shami can be seen sending one of his deliveries to Gayle in the nets, where the Windies great defends it in a nonchalant manner.
Also, Gayle looks to be in a good mood ahead of September 19, as suggested by KXIP's recent Twitter posts of the batsman. Last season, Gayle played in 13 matches, scoring 490 runs. He also registered a 99-run high score in IPL's 2019 edition. In total, he slammed 45 fours, and 34 sixes too. His strike-rate was 151.02, with an average of 41.13.
Shami played in 14 matches, bowling 324 deliveries in total and conceding 469 runs. He also notched 19 wickets. Meanwhile, Shami registered an economy of 8.99.
Currently, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), KXIP will be aiming to have a good tournament. During the 2019 edition, the team didn't qualify for the play-offs. They registered 12 points with six wins, in 14 matches.
Led by KL Rahul, KXIP will play their first match against Delhi Capitals on September 20. The franchise-based T20 league has been shifted out of India this year due to the rising COVID-19 cases.