New Delhi. Bad news came for Gujarat Titans just before the match against Rajasthan Royals. At the time of the toss of this ninth match of IPL 2026, it was revealed that Shubman Gill is out of this match, due to which the command of the team was handed over to Afghan cricketer Rashid at his home ground Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Seeing Rashid Khan standing with Ryan Parag at the time of toss, the fans became tense as to what happened to Gill suddenly? Why was Gill out after playing only one IPL match of the season? Answering these questions, Rashid Khan said that the regular captain of the team is not playing this match due to muscle strain.
Who got the place of captain?
After losing the toss, Rashid Khan, who was captaining Gujarat in the match, said, 'We wanted to bowl first.' Regarding Gill, he said, 'Shubman Gill has a muscle strain, hopefully he will be back soon.' In place of Gill, Kumar Kushagra has been included in the playing-11, who is playing his debut match for Gujarat. Rashid further said, 'We are eager to see Kumar Kushagra playing. We played good cricket in the last match also. It was a good match. We have to give our 100 percent here. Gill not playing is a big blow for Gujarat.
Why is Shubman Gill not playing against Rajasthan Royals?
Riyan Parag won the toss and chose batting
Rajasthan Royals have made two changes in their playing eleven. Shubham Dubey and Tushar Deshpande have been included in the team. After winning the toss, Rajasthan captain Ryan said, 'We will bat first. We have to understand different circumstances and adapt ourselves accordingly. Hopefully we will score a good score around 210 and defend it later. I want our team to be such that it can play in all types of conditions. We have made two changes in the playing eleven. Tushar and Dubey have been included in the team.
Gujarat looking for first win
Gujarat Titans had to face defeat against Punjab Kings in the first match of IPL 2026. Batting first, Gujarat scored 162 runs on the scoreboard after losing 6 wickets in 20 overs. On behalf of the team, Shubman Gill had scored the maximum 39 runs, while Jos Buttler had contributed 38 runs. However, Punjab Kings team was successful in achieving the target of 163 runs by losing 7 wickets in 19.1 overs. The team will play this match with the intention of registering victory. However, in the absence of Gill, there will be more pressure on Rashid Khan.
Playing-11 of both the teams
Rajasthan Royals: Ryan Parag (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Joffra Archer, Nandre Berger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma.
Gujarat Titans: Rashid Khan (captain), Kumar Kushagra, Sai Sudarshan, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
