New Delhi: Gujarat Titans suffered a surprise setback ahead of their IPL 2026 clash. Rajasthan Royals As regular captain Shabman Gul Missed the match due to muscle strain. In his absence, Rashid Khan stepped up to lead the team, assuring fans that the problem was not serious and Gill should be back soon. Led by Rajasthan Ryan Praguewon the toss and elected to bat first, aiming to build a big total on a high-scoring pitch.Explaining the situation, Rashid said, “We wanted to bowl first. Gill has a muscle cramp, hopefully he will be back soon. KK is playing his first match and looking forward to seeing him play.”
Parag, on the other hand, backed his team’s approach, saying, “We are going to bat first, we have to assess and adapt to different situations. Hopefully we will put up a good score around 210 and defend it later.”The Narendra Modi Stadium pitch looked good for batting, with an average score above 200, though chasing teams often struggled here.Rajasthan Royals came into the game with strong momentum after a convincing win, boasting a balanced squad with strong batting and varied bowling options. Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans were looking to bounce back after a disappointing start, where over-reliance on their top-order and a weak middle-order hurt their chances.Their bowlers had done well in the previous match, but the batting unit failed to capitalize. Gill’s unavailability made the onus on the rest of the lineup even more important.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): Yashvi Jaiswal, Vibhu Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jural (W), Ryan Parag (C), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandra Berger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep SharmaGujarat Titans (Playing XI): Kumar Kshagra, Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (w), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tiotia, Rashid Khan (c), Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammad Siraj, Parsed Krishna
