Ajinkya Rahane leaves Quinton de Coke and Anrich Nortze vs Gujarat Titans, Gurbaz makes IPL 2025 debut

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have made two changes to their XI against the Gujarat Titans (GT). The reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions have decided that Quinton de Kock has been given a long enough rope and have dropped the South African wicketkeeper for Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The Afghani batter will open alongside Sunil Narine.

KKR drops QDK

The other change is Anrich Nortje getting benched. This one was expected. KKR have opted for a horses for courses approach. That’s why Nortje played in Mullanpur, and now that KKR are back in Kolkata, where the Eden Gardens’ pitch is expected to spin, Moeen Ali is back in the mix.

“We are going to bowl first. The pitch is on the drier side; we’ll get an idea when we bowl. All the players are working hard. It’s all about being positive. Not too worried about the middle order. Gurbaz comes in, and Moeen Ali comes in as well,” Rahane said after winning the toss.

Some changes were expected as KKR are 7th on the IPL 2025 points table. But many expected that they’d bench Andre Russell, who’s been out of form. But KKR had decided to drop de Kock, who also hasn’t done that well. Barring that 97* against Rajasthan Royals, the opener doesn’t have much to show for. And that’s why Gurbaz has been brought in.

KKR Playing XI vs GT

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy

Impact Subs: Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy