IPL-2025; Gujarat Titans to face Punjab Kings at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad
Gujarat Titans will lock horns with Punjab Kings at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad this evening. The match will begin at 7:30 PM Indian Time.
Every IPL team this season has seen changes – new players, new captains, and new coaches – thanks to the mega auction. But Gujarat Titans have had something even bigger: new owners. The original promoter group, CVC, has ceded control to a new corporate entity. But ask Shubman Gill and he would say, ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same.’
Until last year, one key difference between Gujarat Titans and other IPL teams was their owners’ delegative approach. The former owners remained largely invisible, allowing the team management to run cricketing affairs without interference, a contrast to most other franchises of the league. And when Gill says, “We are the team with the highest win percentage in the past three years,” it is largely because of the hands-off approach by the erstwhile GT management.
“I haven’t had a chance to speak with them but I think that’s a good thing. Because if there was anything new I must have had a reason to talk to them. Except for the great players that we have added in this team I don’t think there is anything new as such,” the GT skipper said of the new management and changes to the squad on the eve of their season-opener against Punjab Kings.
With the influx of players like Jos Buttler, Glenn Phillips, Kagiso Rabada, and Mohammed Siraj, the Titans appear quite formidable. The addition of Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, and Rahul Tewatia to that line-up further strengthens the squad. As someone noted in the pre-match media conference, the Titans now have a ‘problem of plenty,’ boasting a strong group of specialists across batting, bowling, and even fielding.
With a steady coach enjoying an uninterrupted three-year stint and a retained captain, the Titans are undoubtedly one of the most settled sides in the league. Their key dilemma is whether to have Buttler open with Gill or stick with Sai Sudharsan. While having Siraj take the new ball is a luxury, the real question for the GT think tank is how effective he will be in the death overs.
The revamped Punjab side, under the management of Shreyas Iyer and Ricky Ponting, promises to be the best Punjab side ever. “The overall vision for this team is to win the IPL. I told the guys on the very first day when I joined the camp in Dharamshala that we were going to create and become the greatest Punjab Kings team that’s played,” said the former Australia captain.
That’s quite an ambitious goal for a side that appears a bit light on batting. Beyond Shreyas Iyer, there are no established names in the batting lineup and they will need uncapped Shashank Singh to step up and hope for Jos Inglis to replicate his form from the Pakistan leg of the Champions Trophy. While Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell have the ability to win matches on their day, consistency has not been their strong point. Moreover, if Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya are indeed set to open the innings, they would be among the least experienced opening pairs in the league..
Squads:
Punjab Kings Squad: Josh Inglis(w), Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer(c), Glenn Maxwell, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kuldeep Sen, Priyansh Arya, Suryansh Shedge, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash
Gujarat Titans Squad: Jos Buttler(w), Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Mahipal Lomror, Karim Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat, Gerald Coetzee, Sherfane Rutherford, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra, Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Brar, Nishant Sindhu
