IPL 2026, RCB vs GT: No Phil Salt. GT added a shocker to the team in Qualifier 1

Gujarat Titans made a major change to their playing XI in Tuesday’s high-pressure Qualifier 1 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, dropping left-arm spinner Arshad Khan. Arshad appeared in eight matches for GT this season but was replaced by Kulwant Khejroliya who got his first game of IPL 2026.

GT captain Shubman Gill confirmed the change in toss, although he did not elaborate on the reason behind the decision. Gujarat also won the toss and elected to bowl first against RCB in Qualifier 1 in Dharamsala.

RCB vs GT: Live Updates | Scorecard

The change may have been made keeping in mind Arshad’s lengths. Arshad is more prone to big shots due to his slimy action and pace, and in a pitch like Dharamsala where the ball travels a little further, things can quickly go wrong for GT.

Arshad replaced Khejroliya who last played for the GT side in 2025 and was not even picked in the auction this year. Khejroliya was named as a replacement for Prithvi Raj Yarra this year.

Meanwhile, RCB were without the services of Phil Salt for the game. Salt, who returned from England, is taking a short break due to a finger injury, was not fit for selection today.

In place of Salt, RCB stuck with Venkatesh Iyer, who was in form when he opened the franchise.

RCB PLAYING XI:

Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar.

Impact Sub: Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox

GT PLAYING XI:

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Impact Sub: Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Sai Kishore

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

26 May 2026 19:35 IST