Shubman Gill missed the Gujarat Titans IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, April 4 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad due to a muscle spasm, giving the Titans an early injury blow. Stand-in captain Rashid Khan confirmed the development in the toss and later explained Gill’s absence.
With Rashid leading the side, 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Kushagra came into the playing eleven as Gill’s replacement.
“Gill has got a bit of muscle spasm, hopefully he will be back soon. KK (Kumar Kushagra) is playing his first match and we are looking forward to see him play,” Rashid said.
IPL 2026 Update, GT vs RR
In 2024, Kushagra appeared in four matches for Delhi Capitals but had limited opportunities. He was picked up by Gujarat Titans for INR 65 lakh in the IPL 2026 mini-auction. In 30 T20 innings, Kushagra scored 676 runs at an average of 28.16 and a strike rate of 145.68, including five fifties, with a top score of 86 not out.
earlier in the day Hardik Pandya also missed Mumbai Indians’ clash against Delhi Capitals in the first leg of Saturday’s doubleheader at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Hardik was unavailable due to illness, Suryakumar Yadav took over as captain.
Royals started their campaign with a dominant win over Chennai Super Kings but still made a few changes to their playing XI. Tushar Deshpande and Shubham Dubey came in for Brijesh Sharma and Ravi Bishnoi.
Playing XI for Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals
Gujarat Titans: Kumar Kushagra, Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan(c), Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
Impact Player options: Shahrukh Khan, Jason Holder, Manav Suthar, Anuj Rawat, Jayant Yadav
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma
Impact Player options: Ravi Bishnoi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Shubham Dubey, Brijesh Sharma, Ravi Singh
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– The end
Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
04 Apr 2026 19:32 IST
