Why is Vaibhav Arora not playing tonight's KKR vs GT clash of IPL 2026?
(Courtesy : Twitter)
Vaibhav Arora featured in the previous clash of KKR.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) are clashing in the 60th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on May 16. The encounter is taking place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
While KKR aim to keep their hopes of reaching the playoffs alive with a victory in tonight’s clash, GT will become the first team to book a spot in the playoffs with a win.
Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to field first in the clash. At the toss, he informed that they are going with the same XI.
On the other hand, KKR made just one change by bringing back spinner Varun Chakravarthy.He replaced Vaibhav Arora, who was not picked in the playing XI after featuring in the previous game against RCB.
Why did Vaibhav Arora miss KKR vs GT clash of IPL 2026?
Notably, Arora has been dropped for the clash. He was one of the impact substitutes named at the start. However, KKR opted for pacer Matheesha Pathirana as an impact player in the second innings.
The Sri Lankan pacer missed the initial part of the tournament due to a hamstring injury sustained in ICC T20 World Cup in February. After getting an NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), he arrived in India and joined the KKR squad in the second phase.
This is Patheerana’s first game in IPL 2026. Saurabh Dubey and Kartik Tyagi are the other two pacers for KKR in the match.
Speaking at the toss, Rahane said, “There’s a little bit of moisture, there’s rain last night, heavy rain, so I don’t think it will change that much, considering there is breeze going on. I’m not too sure about the dew factor as well, but whatever it is, we want to give our best in our bat, and then when we defend the total, give best in those 20 overs. Varun comes in, Varun is fit”.
Meanwhile, Vaibhav has picked 11 wickets in 11 games in IPL 2026 at an economy of 10.26. Although he did not come up with an impeccable spell in any game, he picked wickets for the side consistently. This is the first game that Vaibhav is missing in the tournament.
Is Vaibhav Arora part of KKR vs GT clash?
No, he is not part of the match.
Who won the toss in KKR vs GT match?
GT won the toss and chose to field first.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.