IPL 2017: Should Chris Gayle be dropped again for RCB vs Mumbai Indians match?

Virat Kohli should be in the RCB playing XI for the Good Friday IPL 2017 match against the Mumbai Indians, so will AB De Villiers, but will Chris Gayle play at the Chinnaswamy?

Gayle was dropped from the lineup by RCB for their previous match, which they lost to the Kings XI Punjab in Indore.

With De Villiers recovering from a back injury to take his place in the team, RCB had to make the decision of either dropping a bowler or Gayle and they went with the West Indian.

It isn't the first time that Gayle has been dropped from the playing XI by RCB, and it certainly won't be the last.

With only four overseas players allowed in a playing XI in the IPL, every team will have some big-name player or the other sitting out, having to watch from the sidelines.

When it comes to RCB, no matter what the situation, no matter what game, no matter what opponent, one overseas player is undroppable – AB De Villiers.

The South African showed just why with a whirlwind innings in Indore against Kings XI Punjab, despite it being his first match of IPL 2017.

Shane Watson captained the side during Kohli's absence and is also an all-rounder. Yes, he hasn't been as potent with the ball as last season – he had one good game – and he has been quite poor with the bat, but that all-round ability is hard to ignore.

Tymal Mills is the go-to pace bowler in the death overs and while the Englishman has, so far, struggled a little to justify the Rs 12 crore price tag, a bowler capable of picking up wickets and stopping the sixes in the end overs, particularly at the Chinnaswamy, is someone to be persevered with.

Billy Stanlake has been picked for the last couple of matches, and the tall Australian fast bowler has done reasonably well. He was expensive in the game against Kings XI, but against the Delhi Daredevils, Stanlake was one of the reasons RCB picked up a win.

So, if Gayle, who had scores of 32 and 6 in his two matches, is to force his way into the paying XI, he will have to displace either Mills or Stanlake, which would then mean RCB depending on one of their Indian pace bowlers.

Is that a risk worth taking?

Well, if Gayle goes on to score a hundred to win the match for RCB, it certainly would be.

But if Gayle falls early again and the Indian fast bowler picked goes for plenty....

While KL Rahul is a big miss, with Kedar Jadhav in such good form and Watson likely to come good with the bat sooner rather than later, RCB can manage without Gayle.

Kohli, De Villiers, Watson and Jadhav is an outstanding top four, although Kohli, Gayle, De Villiers, Jadhav and Watson looks a whole lot better.

It isn't an easy decision, but RCB need to weigh the pros and cons of playing that Indian fast bowler over the overseas one and see if Gayle's inclusion outweighs the cons.