Kagiso Rabada availability only uncertainty in battle of in-form sides: GT vs RR, IPL match likely XI

Kagiso Rabada had travelled back home for personal reasons and there is yet to be any clarity on his availability for Gujarat Titans' upcoming game

Gujarat Titans seem to have pretty much hit the ground running in the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) while the Rajasthan Royals seem to have found their feet now with Sanju Samson back as regular captain. In a way, both sides have similar approaches to batting but while it has been smooth sailing for GT, RR have had to work through some dodgy knocks before seemingly getting into their groove.

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Titans' bowler Kagiso Rabada celebrates with teammates after the wicket of Punjab Kings' batter Prabhsimran Singh during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match between Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings, at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)(PTI03_25_2025_000378A)(PTI)

GT's top order of Jos Buttler, who is set to face the side for whom he played until last year for seven years, captain Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan have been absolutely purring along and are a big reason why they have won three of the four games they have played thus far.

RR have a similarly star-studded top order but it has been misfiring. Yashasvi Jaiswal made three scores that were hardly noteworth considering his lofty standards before seemingly getting underway for the season in the last match against PBKS with a 45-ball 67. Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag also fired and that played a huge role in them winning that match.

Another big factor in their victory was Jofra Archer's 3/25, which earned him the player of the match award. With Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma and Wanindu Hasaranga all striking, RR's bowling lineup pretty much performed exactly the way they would like it to in every game.

A huge source of worry for GT is Rashid Khan's slow start to the season. However, the Afghan star has a very good record against Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer, both key players for RR. His figures of 0/31 against SRH in GT's last game was more encouraging than the ones came before. There is no clarity on Kagiso Rabada and so it seems safe to say that Ishant Sharma will be getting another game.

Gujarat Titans Likely XI and Impact Player: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(wk), Washington Sundar, Sherfane Rutherford, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma/ Arshad Khan

Rajasthan Royals Likely XI and Impact Player: Sanju Samson (c&wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Kumar Kartikeya, Tushar Deshpande