Is Ishant Sharma playing today’s GT vs RR IPL 2025 match?

The Gujarat Titans (GT) host the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 23rd match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, April 9. The hosts, who are one of the favorites to lift the title this season, have started their campaign well and are currently ranked second in the table.

Sanju Samson won the toss for the Rajasthan Royals in this game and promptly opted to bowl first, keeping in mind the dew factor towards the latter half. Shubman Gill, GT’s skipper, also stated that he wanted to bowl first as well. Although he said that there were no changes in his team for this game, Ishant Sharma was seen missing from the team sheet.

Arshad Khan has, instead, come into the playing XI, with Sharma not even a part of the impact substitutions list. Instead, Kulwant Khejroliya has found a place on the bench for GT in this game.

It is still not clear whether it was a slip of the tongue by Gill at the toss or if Sharma was forced to make way for Khan afterwards for some reason.

Ishant Sharma was a tad expensive in GT’s previous encounter against the SunRisers Hyderabad, in which he conceded 53 runs in his quota of four overs at an economy rate of 13.20. The veteran fast bowler has been far from his best in the IPL this season and has looked worn by the passing years. He has picked up just one wicket in the three appearances he has made so far.

GT are ranked second in the IPL 2025 table

GT, as mentioned, have been one of the teams to watch out for this season so far, and they have thrilled their fans with their swashbuckling performances. In their previous encounter, away from home against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday, April 6, they scripted a come-from-behind victory against the previous season’s runner-up.

Barring the first game, which they lost to the Punjab Kings at home by a narrow margin of 11 runs, the Titans have looked in complete control throughout this campaign. Apart from SRH, they have also beaten the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru so far this season.

Seamer Mohammed Siraj has been one of the revelations for Gujarat in this campaign. Spurned by the Indian selectors for the ICC Champions Trophy and released by RCB ahead of the mega-auction, the Hyderabad speedster is ranked joint-fourth with nine wickets so far to his credit. He will be keen on adding more to his tally on Wednesday.

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Mohul is a senior football, cricket and Olympic Sports writer at Sportskeeda, and has been in the organisation for more than 6 years. Some of his best work includes 118 exclusive interviews with famous sports personalities, insider talk and transfer speculations. He has also covered the entirety of the 2023-24 ISL season, Kalinga Super Cup and 2023-24 Pro Kabaddi League from the ground.

An MBA degree holder in Finance, Mohul is also a professional cricketer and is currently in the reserves for Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy team. He’s also played league football in Hyderabad.

His football interest sparked after watching countless Rahim League matches at the Gymkhana and supporting the State Bank of Hyderabad. He grew up hearing stories about the legendary Syed Abdul Rahim and his incredible football team of the 1960s, which had a big influence on him. He has admired Manchester United’s dominance in English and European football as well.

Tennis star Leander Paes, Olympic gold-medalist Abhinav Bindra, cricketing legend Rahul Dravid and football star Chinglensana Singh are Mohul’s favorite athletes. He is a staunch Hyderabad FC supporter, and Sahil Tavora’s 88th-minute equalizer in the 2021-22 ISL Cup final against Kerala Blasters is one of his favorite footballing moments. Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal in shooting at the 2008 Olympics also had a huge impact on Mohul.

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Edited by Ankush Das