Revealed - Why GT captain Hardik Pandya isn't playing today's match vs KKR

Rashid Khan to lead Gujarat Titans in the absence of Hardik Pandya

In match no. 13 of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023), Gujarat Titans are set to take on Kolkata Knight Riders at their home ground. Before the game, a big blow came to the Titans in the news of Hardik Pandya's unavailability for the game. The stand-in captain, Rashid Khan will lead the side.

At the toss, Rashid Khan spoke about Hardik's unavailability for the fixture saying "Just unwell slightly, don't want to take risks with him." After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Titans have made only a forced change in their playing XI. Vijay Shankar comes in for Hardik Pandya.

Hardik is an invaluable member of the Titans. His captaincy clubbed with all-around abilities provides the perfect balance to the side. Although in the two games he has played so far, Pandya wasn't able to create much impact with either bat or ball. A crucial member of their setup, it remains to be seen how Rashid Khan will marshal his troops.

GT vs KKR: Gujarat Titans look to extend their winning run

Gujarat Titans have continued the new season where they left the last time. The defending champions have been spot-on from the word go. With two wins out of two matches, GT will be hoping for a hat-trick of wins when they take the field against Kolkata Knight Riders today. Coming back home, Gujarat Titans have played two matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium so far - IPL 2022 Final and the opening game of IPL 2023. On both occasions, the Titans emerged victorious. With form on their side, GT will be confident of keeping their 100% win record at home.

Some of the positives for GT have been the form of their top 3, Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, and Sai Sudharsan aided by the finishing skills of David Miller along with others. The pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little, and Alzarri Joseph too have done their job. In the absence of Hardik Pandya who binds their middle order together, will be interesting to see if it gets exposed early on against KKR.

Their opponents for today, Kolkata Knight Riders will be riding high on confidence from the win in their previous game against RCB. After a loss in their season opener, KKR managed to dig themselves out of the trench and put up quite a show against RCB. Gurbaz's form, Shardul Thakur's all-around abilities coming to the fore, and the spin trio of Varun, Sunil, and Yash are some of the positives for KKR.

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