Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans were dealt a surprise blow ahead of their IPL 2026 clash against Rajasthan Royals as regular captain Shubman Gill missed the match due to a muscle spasm. In his absence, Rashid Khan stepped in to lead the side, assuring fans that the issue wasn’t serious and Gill should return soon. Rajasthan, led by Riyan Parag, won the toss and chose to bat first, aiming to put up a big total on a high-scoring pitch.Explaining the situation, Rashid said, “We wanted to bowl first. Gill has a muscle spasm, hopefully he will be back soon. KK is playing his first game and look forward to see him play.”
On the other hand, Parag backed his team’s approach, saying, “We are going to be batting first. We got to assess and adapt to different conditions. Hopefully we will put up a good score around 210 and defend it later on.”The pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium looked good for batting, with an average score above 200, even though teams chasing have often struggled here.Rajasthan Royals came into the game with strong momentum after a convincing win, boasting a balanced squad with both solid batting and varied bowling options. Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans were looking to bounce back after a disappointing start, where overdependence on their top order and a weak middle order hurt their chances.Their bowlers had done a decent job in the previous match, but the batting unit failed to capitalise. With Gill unavailable, the responsibility on the rest of the lineup became even more crucial.Overall, while Rajasthan looked confident and settled, Gujarat faced an early challenge—not just from their opponents, but also from the absence of their key leader. Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep SharmaGujarat Titans (Playing XI): Kumar Kushagra, Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan(c), Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
