IPL 2026: KKR elect to bat against GT with one big change; know playing XIs

Deflated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the toss and opted to bat first against Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on April 17.

KKR, who are still searching for their first win in the ongoing season, brought in Tim Seifert in place of Finn Allen in their playing XI. Meanwhile, GT didn't tinker with their playing XI for the clash against KKR.

What did the captains say at the toss?

KKR captain Ainkya Rahane, after winning the toss, said:

"We’outside the leg-stump look to bat first. We just want our batters to play freely, with freedom. The kind of tournament we’ve had so far, we’ve tried everything, chasing targets, batting first as well. I thought giving that freedom to the batters and then defending the total would be a good approach. That (batting first is a good option) is what I got to know. But again, sometimes you don’t have to depend too much on data and stats. It’s all about what you feel as a team and what you strongly want to do. As I said, the kind of tournament we’ve had so far, we just want to turn it around. I thought batting first is a good option. It’s all about, if you’re doing well, people will say good things about you. If you’re not, then they will criticise you. It’s part and parcel of any sportsperson’s life. It’s about staying confident as a team, backing each other in tough times, that’s what matters. We always talk about character in the team and I think we have really good characters. We just want to focus on our strengths, play good cricket. T20 is all about momentum, winning small moments. Today, we just want to play fearless cricket and stay in the moment. Just one change. Tim Seifert comes in place of Finn Allen."

Meanwhile, GT skipper Shubman Gill, after losing the toss, said:

"We wanted to bowl first, to be honest. There might be some dew around. Out batting collapsed in the middle in the last match. It should have been a comfortable chase otherwise. It's all about doing the simple things right. That always we talk about in team meetings. We are playing with the same team."

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI):

Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ashok Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Gujarat Titans Impact Subs: Jason Holder, Shahrukh Khan, Manav Suthar, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI):

Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi

Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Varun Chakaravarthy, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Manish Pandey