Gujarat Titans (GT), who finished at number 3 in the previous season, will take on Punjab Kings in game number 4 of IPL 2026 on Tuesday. Shubman Gill and co. fell short of reaching the final in the last edition of the tournament despite being one of the best sides in the league, backed by a strong batting-unit. Come IPL 2026, no large changes are expected to be made to the batting order, except that there will be a new number 4 as Sherfane Rutherford has been traded to Mumbai Indians (MI).
GT have a power-packed batting line-up, and a good all-rounder unit. But their bowling isn’t convincing enough. It is pertinent to point out that the majority of the runs scored in IPL 2025 came from the top four – Gill, Sudharsan, Buttler and Rutherford. However, with the Windies star gone, GT will have to pin thier hopes on other talents to step up and deliver when the teams needs it the most.
Predicted GT playing XI vs PBKS
| No. | Player | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shubman Gill (c) | Opener |
| 2 | Sai Sudharsan | Opener |
| 3 | Jos Buttler (wk)✈️ | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| 4 | Washington Sundar | All-rounder |
| 5 | Glenn Phillips✈️ | All-rounder |
| 6 | Shahrukh Khan | All-rounder |
| 7 | Jason Holder✈️ | All-rounder |
| 8 | Rashid Khan ✈️ | Spinner |
| 9 | Sai Kishore | Spinner |
| 10 | Mohammed Siraj | Pacer |
| 11 | Prasidh Krishna | Pacer |
Best top 3 ft. Gill
GT’s top three will remain unchanged from the previous season, which means Gill, Sudharsan and Buttler will be the top-order batters for the side. Gill, who made 650 runs from 15 matches in IPL 2025, is confirmed to continue as an opener, alongside Sudharsan – who was the Orange Cap winner last season, having amassed 759 runs at an average of 49.80. Buttler, who made his move from RR, excelled in his role at number 3 and was GT’s 3rd highest run-getter in the tournament last year, with 538 runs from 14 matches.
Sundar number 4, Phillips returns
With Sherfae Rutherford gone, Washington Sundar is expected to essay the role of number 4 for GT in IPL 2026. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder has been at his best while batting at number 4 in the IPL, having scored 146 runs from 6 matches at a strike rate of 155.31. Rutherford, who excelled in that role mostly as an impact player in IPL 2025, is likely to be replaced by Sundar at that position as the former has been traded to MI. Meanwhile, Glenn Phillips – a gun fielder and a formidable batter – who was ruled out of IPL 2025 mid-way due to injury, is back and will bat at number 5 apart from being an integral part of GT’s spin unit.
Will Rabada play?
Rabada has featured in 84 IPL games thus far since his debut in 2017 and has 119 wickets to his name. However, in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2026, he made bare minimum impact for South Africa, picking up just 5 wickets from 7 games. Depsite being a formidable pacer, GT are expected to go ahead with Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna in their playing XI against PBKS while Jason Holder will serve as the 3rd pacer.
Rashid Khan will spearhead the spin unit with Sai Kishore serving as his deputy while Phillips will be expected to make part-time contributions. Rahul Tewatia could come in as the impact player, should GT need an extra hand with either bat or ball, based on the circumstances.
