IPL preview: Gujarat Titans start as favourites against Punjab Kings

Dubai: Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill were the in-form players for Team India during their triumphant Champions Trophy campaign. But as the Indian Premier League (IPL) gets underway, they find themselves on opposite sides, taking on new challenges.

Gill, who led Gujarat in Hardik Pandya’s absence last season, enters IPL Season 18 on a positive note and is confident of producing a better show. The stylish batter must have picked up valuable lessons as India’s vice-captain during the Champions Trophy and is tipped for a bigger role in the national white-ball set-up. He has also shown that extra responsibility does not weigh heavily on him.

Having missed out on an IPL playoff spot last season, the Shubman Gill-led Titans will be looking to replicate their title-winning campaign from their 2022 debut. Gujarat enjoy a superior head-to-head record against Punjab Kings in the IPL, having won three of their five encounters.

The last time these two sides met, the Titans secured a three-wicket win in Mullanpur in April 2024. Gill, who scored 426 runs in 12 innings last season, including a century, will be eager to improve on those numbers this time around.

Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, faces a different challenge. After leading the Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title last season, he has now been entrusted with guiding Punjab Kings to their maiden triumph.

But Punjab’s batting line-up remains fragile, and Iyer will have to play a key role in steering his team through the season. Gujarat, having bolstered their squad, start as favourites to open their campaign with a win.

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (captain), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Sherfane Rutherford, Anuj Rawat (wicketkeeper), Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper). Rashid Khan, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Mahipal Lomror, Sai Kishore, Karim Janat, Arshad Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Gurnoor Brar, Jayant Yadav, Manav Suthar, Kulwant Khejroliya.

Punjab: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Josh Inglis, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Musheer Khan, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Harpreet Brar, Kuldeep Sen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur.

Venue: Ahmedabad

Start time: 6pm (UAE)