Rashid Khan Stand-in captain
On Sunday, the match between the yellow kings and blue titans made the cricket fans experience an unexpected shock. At the time of toss, Gujarat Titan’s ace spinner, Rashid Khan, presence brought a great surprise as he replaced Hardik Pandya and took the position of stand-in captain of the team.
The late surprise of Pandya’s missing could have made the fans disappointed considering his fame gained in the last five matches with his stunning performance of being a team’s captain and a match-winning player.
After winning the toss and being elected to bowl first, Khan broke the massive news of Hardik Pandya not being in the playing XI. “Hardik Pandya is not playing today due to his stiffness in the groin area,” he said.
In the previous match, Hardik showcased a sensational performance by hitting 87 runs off 52 balls against Rajasthan Royals. His super knock made the blue army taste the victory against the table toppers. During the GT’s bowling, Pandya couldn’t complete his four-over quota as he suffered an injury in the groin area.
“We didn’t want to take any chance as a team,” Khan added, commenting further on Hardik’s injury. He will rest and hopefully return for the next game, he underlined.
Meanwhile, Khan also mentioned his dream of being a captain. “Super excited, it’s kind of a dream. So I just want to learn as much as I can and give 100 percent,” he said.
Gujarat Titans Squad:
Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan (c), Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal.
Chennai Super Kings Squad:
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (c), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Mahesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary.
