IPL 2026: Why is Shubman Gill not playing GT vs RR Match 9?

Gujarat Titans (GT) are set to face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match No. 9 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday, April 4. GT head into the contest placed seventh after suffering a defeat in their opening game against Punjab Kings, while RR have made a strong start to their campaign and currently sit second on the points table following a win over Chennai Super Kings.

GT vs RR: Toss Update

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag won the toss and elected to bat first, stating that the pitch conditions and past statistics favor setting a target. Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Rashid Khan mentioned that it is a fresh wicket and expressed confidence in his team’s intent to play a positive brand of cricket.

Shubman Gill misses out; RR also made tactical changes

Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill misses out on this match due to a neck spasm and is expected to return soon, with Kumar Kushagra coming in as his replacement. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals have also made a couple of changes to their lineup, bringing in Tushar Deshpande and Shubham Dubey.

GT vs RR: What did the captains say?

Rashid Khan, GT captain

We wanted to bowl first. Gill has a muscle spasm, hopefully he will be back soon. KK (Kumar Kushagra) is playing his first game and look forward to see him play. We played good cricket in the last game as well. Was a good game. We need to bring out 100% here.

Riyan Parag, RR captain

We are going to be batting first. We got to assess and adapt to different conditions. Hopefully we will put up a good score around 210 and defend it later on. I want it to be a team that plays in all conditions. Two changes. Tushar Deshpande comes in for Brijesh and Shubham Dubey comes in for Bishnoi.

GT vs RR: Playing XIs

Gujarat Titans

Kumar Kushagra, B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan (c), Mohammed Siraj, Ashok Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna

Impact Players: Shahrukh Khan, Jason Holder, Manav Suthar, Anuj Rawat, Jayant Yadav

Rajasthan Royals

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma

Impact Players: Ravi Bishnoi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Shubham Dubey, Brijesh Sharma, Ravi Singh