Rahul was expected to lead his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kings XI Punjab for the first time this season but the tournament stands postponed indefinitely owing to the worldwide health emergency.
Gayle was supposed to be playing for the Kings XI Punjab during this time of the year but the 13th season of the IPL has been postponed indefinitely
Apart from KXIP, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals were also in the race but Punjab emerged out as the eventual winners.
Find the complete list of players released by all IPL teams ahead of the auction in December.
National anthems are usually played before the start of an international game but KXIP co-owner Wadia feels it should be the norm in the world's number one cricket league.
The confusion left AB de Villiers in splits and what followed was an onslaught from the former Proteas skipper as RCB beat KXIP by 17 runs.
While the losing captain is interviewed right after the game, the winning captain is interviewed during the presentation ceremony and Kohli said it felt nice to return to the ground for the interview rather than being interviewed right after the game on Saturday.
Defending 174, Punjab bowlers not only failed in getting wickets but also leaked runs as the visitors crossed the line with four balls to spare.
SRH skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar will also hope that the faster pace of the wicket in Mohali will help his opening combination of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow.
Punjab handed a debut to Varun Chakravarthy on Wednesday, however, the little known leg-spinner was hit for 25 runs, Sunil Narine accounting for 24 of them, in the bowler's very first over.
