Big call! Why Shubman Gill left out 155.28 kmph star pacer from Gujarat Titans' Playing XI vs RCB?

Gujarat Titans’ captain Shubman Gill chose to field first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match, citing favorable conditions and the need to reduce errors. Gujarat made one change with Arshad Khan replacing Kagiso Rabada. Rajat Patidar of RCB also preferred to bowl first but stuck with the same playing XI.

NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to field first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL clash on Wednesday.

Gujarat Titans, the 2022 champions, made a single change, bringing in Arshad Khan in place of their pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who was unavailable due to personal reasons.

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“We’ll bowl first. Looks like a good wicket. We’ve seen that conditions don’t change much here. Our focus is on minimizing unforced errors and fine-tuning key areas. Kagiso misses out due to personal reasons, so we’ve brought Arshad Khan in,” Gill said at the toss.

Poll

Do you agree with Shubman Gill’s decision to leave out the pacer from the Playing XI?

No, he should have playedYes, it was the right decision

Rabada consistently delivers at speeds between 140-150 kmph, and his quickest recorded ball reached 155.28 kmph whilst playing against Punjab Kings during the 2024 IPL season.

RCB, playing their first home game of the season, retained the same playing XI. Captain Rajat Patidar admitted he would have preferred to bowl first but remained confident in his team’s balance.

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“Would’ve bowled first as well because it’s a new surface. It looks pretty hard and shouldn’t change much. The way the boys are stepping up gives me a lot of confidence as a captain. We love this crowd—their support has always been incredible. Same team for us,” Patidar said.

Impact Substitutes

Gujarat Titans: Sherfane Rutherford, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Washington Sundar.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh.

Playing XIs

Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Jos Buttler (WK), Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal.

Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, points table and IPL live score for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Don’t miss the list of players in the race for IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple cap.

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