Kagiso Rabada has returned to India after having served a one-month suspension for failing a dope test. The GT director of cricket Vikram Solanki had confirmed that Rabada was available for GT’s match against MI, but skipper Shubman Gill confirmed he missed out.
Kagiso Rabada misses out despite being available for Gujarat Titans in their clash against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede on Tuesday, May 6. Rabada returned to India after having served a one-month ban for failing a doping test during the SA20.
Rabada trained with the Titans squad on the eve of the clash against MI. The GT director of cricket Vikram Solanki had confirmed that Rabada was available for this match after re-joining the squad. Meanwhile, he missed out on being part of the Playing XI for the MI clash.
GT skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to field first. He confirmed one change to the Playing XI that defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 38 runs a few days ago. He also confirmed that Rabada is not playing and reasoned that the team management wanted to give him more time to get in his ‘groove’ before he hits the field.
“We will bowl first. I don’t think the wicket will change much, got to have a total on the board and then chase it. It’s all about delivering our best as a team. We have one change. Arshad comes back for Sundar. Rabada is back (in the squad), but he will need a few practice sessions and a few games to get back in his groove. We are fortunate that we can use Kishore when needed. We have 6-7 bowling options,” Gill said at the toss.
“We don’t mind batting. There’s a lot of breeze. Will be fine to bowl second in such conditions as well. For us it’s important to execute our plans. In IPL, anyone can come in and change a game. We need to stick to our plans and be ruthless for 20 overs. We need to maintain discipline, need to be humble and focussed. We are playing with the same team,” Hardik said at the toss.
Gujarat Titans’ Playing XI: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Arshad Khan, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Mumbai Indians’ Playing XI: Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
Gujarat Titans Impact Subs: Washington Sundar, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Dasun Shanaka, Sherfane Rutherford
Mumbai Indians Impact Subs: Karn Sharma, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz, Reece Topley, Ashwani Kumar
