IPL 2026: Chennai Super Kings drop Rs 14.20 crore star in high-pressure Gujarat Titans clash

Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad (BCCI/IPL Photo) NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has won the toss and opted to take on Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday. In a must-win clash and the last match of the group stage for CSK, Ruturaj made two big changes to his playing XI against Gujarat Titans.Ruturaj fielded Gurjapneet Singh in place of Akeal Hosein and brought in Matthew Short for Prashant Veer. Veer, who was bought by CSK for a whopping Rs 14.20 crore in the IPL 2026 auction, was ruled out for the crucial clash.“We’re going to bowl first. Obviously there’s some pace and bounce on the pitch and we want to take advantage of that early on. So that’s the only reason we’re bowling first. (What’s the team mix?) We’ve got a few changes. Obviously, given the conditions, unfortunately Akeal will miss out. And Gurjapneet is coming in. And Matt Rujtura is playing instead.“(How did you regroup for this important clash?) Well, it’s about keeping it simple and trusting the process. I think we fought well in the last game as well and obviously we didn’t get the result we wanted, but it’s all about coming and getting that W at the end of the day. But obviously there’s a lot going on today,” he added, and we want to make sure it’s really simple.On the other hand, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill made just one change and brought in Prasidh Krishna in place of Sai Kishore. Gujarat Titans have already qualified for the playoffs.“We also wanted to bowl first but there’s not much need here. We have one change. Prasidh comes in for Sai Kishore. Let’s hope we can keep up the intensity with the ball. The work is not done and let’s hope it’s three good games from here,” Shubman said.Playing XI:Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (w), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Matthew Short, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet SinghGujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, Mohammed Siraj.Gujarat Titans Impact Subs: Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kumar KushagraChennai Super Kings Impact Subs:Kartik Sharma, Macneil Noronha, Sarfaraz Khan, Kuldip Yadav, Aman Khan

Should CSK have made more changes to their playing XI for this crucial match?