IPL 2026: Shubman Gill Ruled Out Of Rajasthan Royals Clash, Gujarat Titans Stand-in Captain Rashid Khan Offers Update

Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the Rajasthan Royals clash owing to a fitness issue. In his absence, Rashid Khan is leading the team at the Narendra Modi Stadium. It is not clear whether Gill will be back to captain the team in the next match against the Delhi Capitals on April 8.

Shubman Gill Ruled Out Of Rajasthan Royals Clash

At the toss, Rashid Khan confirmed Gill has a back spasm and Kumar Kushagra will be replacing him in the side. He said, “Gill has got a bit of a muscle spasm, hopefully he will be back soon. KK (Kumar Kushagra) is playing his first game and we are looking forward to seeing him play."

RR captain Riyan Parag won the toss and decided to bat first. Gill had suffered due to a neck spasm in recent times, but it is not clear whether that injury has flared up or is an entirely new injury. IPL 2026 is a good opportunity for Gill to make his case for the Indian T20I side. He missed out on a place in India's T20 World Cup squad, which lifted the trophy this year.

Kushagra managed to feature in four games for the Delhi Capitals last season and will be hoping to showcase his talents this season. Gujarat finished 3rd last season and their primary target will be to reach the playoffs this season.

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GT vs RR Playing XIs

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.

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.