Ahmedabad: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has confirmed an unchanged lineup for the IPL 2026 final against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The England international keeper-batter had previously injured his hand, which led to him missing several matches after relocating to England for recovery. He rejoined the squad just a day before RCB’s final league match.
Though he was anticipated to return to the field during the Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans, RCB chose to stick with the same playing XI. The player in question was seen with a finger brace in the dugout. Nonetheless, his fitness has reportedly improved significantly since then. Despite this, RCB opted for Jacob Duffy, the second overseas pacer, who proved pivotal in the earlier match by taking three wickets and disrupting Gujarat’s top order.
In the final, RCB won the toss and decided to bowl first. Captain Rajat Patidar explained the reasoning behind the decision, stating that the wicket conditions would not change significantly over the course of the innings. “We’ll bowl first. (On the surface) It’s a pretty good wicket. The ball will come nicely on the bat, but to be honest, it will not change in the 40 overs. So we’ll try to get them out early,” Patidar said.
Gujarat Titans’ captain Shubman Gill expressed no disappointment with the toss results, indicating a preference to bat first. He also announced one change to his squad: Arshad Khan replaced Sai Kishore.
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar.
