Shubman Gill missed Gujarat Titans’ IPL 2026 clash against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, April 4, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad due to a muscle spasm, handing the Titans an early injury concern. Stand-in skipper Rashid Khan confirmed the development at the toss and later explained Gill’s absence.

With Rashid leading the side, 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra came into the playing XI as Gill’s replacement.

“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,” Rashid said.

Back in 2024, Kushagra featured in four matches for Delhi Capitals but had limited opportunities. Gujarat Titans picked him up for INR 65 lakh at the IPL 2026 mini-auction. In 30 T20 innings, Kushagra has scored 676 runs at an average of 28.16 and a strike rate of 145.68, including five fifties, with a highest score of 86 not out.

Earlier in the day,

Hardik Pandya also missed Mumbai Indians’ clash against Delhi Capitals in the first match of Saturday’s double-header at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Hardik was unavailable due to illness, with Suryakumar Yadav stepping in as captain.

The Royals began their campaign with a dominant win over Chennai Super Kings, but they still made a couple of changes to their 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

- Ends