IPL 2026: 3 players GT underutilised this season

The Gujarat Titans (GT) had an excellent campaign during the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL), where they reached their third final in five seasons, only to lose to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. One of the main reasons for GT’s success in the recently concluded IPL was their steady playing XI without making wholesale changes. 

The consistency in their lineup, however, comes at a huge cost, where a plethora of deserving players are given little to no opportunities in the side to showcase their talents on the grand stage. On the other hand, having quality players on the bench is vital for a team’s success, as there are ready-made replacements for first-team starters in case of injuries or unavailability. 

As far as the Titans are concerned, there were a few talented players who got very little game time in the IPL, whilst others were not utilised to their full potential.

Here are 3 players who were underutilised by GT in IPL 2026: 

3. Washington Sundar

It is baffling to see a player who played 17 times in the season amongst the list of underutilised players. Washington Sundar, however, makes the cut due to his all-round skills not used by captain Shubman Gill. The left-handed batter established himself in GT’s middle order and went on to score 377 at a strike rate of 150. But Sundar, also a handy right-arm off-spin bowler, did not get many opportunities to deliver. 

In the 17 matches that he played, Sundar bowled in just five of them, taking a solitary wicket. He bowled just over nine overs across the whole IPL at an economy rate of 9.16. The 26-year-old is widely regarded as one of the replacements for Ravichandran Ashwin in India’s Test setup, but his bowling skills were not used during the nineteenth edition of the league.

2. Kumar Kushagra

Before the 2026 IPL season, Kumar Kushagra was in the form of his life, having played a crucial role in guiding Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. He finished the tournament as the third-highest run-scorer, hitting 422 at an average of 60.28. This included scoring 81 off just 38 balls in the final against Haryana. He was picked up by the Titans for INR 65 lakh in the mini auction but played just once for the 2022 champions.

His sole appearance in a GT shirt came against the Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium when captain Shubman Gill was out due to an injury. He scored 18 runs from 14 deliveries whilst opening the batting alongside Sai Sudharsan in the second innings.

1. Sai Kishore

Sai Kishore had an impressive season for GT in 2025, where he took 19 wickets from 15 matches at a superb average of 20.68. With him becoming his side’s leading domestic spinner, the Tamil Nadu cricketer could have expected to play a lot more than just three games that he ended up playing in the 2026 edition of the cash-rich tournament.

The 29-year-old took just one wicket all season long and was the victim of GT’s new strategy of fielding their bowling attack with a majority of seamers and using Rashid Khan as they solitary spinner.