Shubman Gill, the Gujarat Titans captain, missed the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match against the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad due to a muscle spasm. However, the franchise is not sweating over the status of his injury, as management expects him to recover in time for the next fixture against the Delhi Capitals on April 8. Gujarat Titans' assistant coach Parthiv Patel provided the key update during the match against Rajasthan, saying Gill once again felt pain in his neck. It is worth noting that the Indian Test and ODI captain had suffered a neck sprain last year, which ruled him out of the second Test and the ODI series against South Africa.
Speaking to the host broadcaster, Parthiv said, “Obviously, he had a neck sprain before, and he had a spasm a couple of days back. Hoping he's fit for the coming game. It doesn't look like that serious.”
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“The injury management is not my forte. But I can definitely tell you that he should be fine,” he added.
Shubman has seen a heavy workload on his body since February last year. The toll further increased after he was named India's Test and ODI captain. He was on the road for the majority of 2025, playing against England, the West Indies, and Australia. He also played the Asia Cup. And eventually, the constant pressure of playing competitive matches led to him suffering a neck sprain in the first Test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens.
Coming back to the IPL 2026 fixture against Rajasthan, Rashid Khan stepped in as the captain in the absence of Shubman. The batter was replaced by Kumar Kushagra in the playing XI. Earlier, Shubman, 26, scored 39 in the team's opening match against Punjab Kings; however, the side came up short as Shreyas Iyer's team got over the line.
What happened in the match between GT and RR?
{{/usCountry}}Coming back to the IPL 2026 fixture against Rajasthan, Rashid Khan stepped in as the captain in the absence of Shubman. The batter was replaced by Kumar Kushagra in the playing XI. Earlier, Shubman, 26, scored 39 in the team's opening match against Punjab Kings; however, the side came up short as Shreyas Iyer's team got over the line.
What happened in the match between GT and RR?
{{/usCountry}}In the match between Gujarat and Rajasthan, Rajasthan won the toss and elected to bat. Rajasthan Royals posted 210/6 in the 20 overs as Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal played knocks of 75 and 55, respectively.
Sai Sudharsan spearheaded Gujarat's chase as the Gujarat opener scored a quickfire fifty. However, the left-hander lost his wicket after scoring 73, bringing Rajasthan back into the game.
Ravi Bishnoi scalped four wickets and it seemed done and dusted. However, Gujarat fought back owing to a crucial 43-run stand for the eighth wicket between Kagiso Rabada and Rashid. In the final over, Gujarat needed 11 runs but Tushar Deshpande delivered pitch perfect six balls, leaking just five runs to seal a 6-run win for Rajasthan Royals.