Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans (GT) suffered a major setback ahead of their clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL 2025 match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 2. South African Star pacer Kagiso Rabada was surprisingly absent from the playing XI leaving fans wondering about the reason behind his omission.

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Why is Rabada Not Playing Today?

GT captain Shubman Gill confirmed at the toss that Rabada was unavailable for selection due to personal reasons. While the franchise hasn’t disclosed further details Gill stated that the South African speedster opted out of the game, prompting the team to make adjustments to their bowling attack.

Rabada who was acquired for INR 10.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction had already made his mark with two wickets in two matches. His absence leaves GT without their premier strike bowler putting additional pressure on the rest of the bowling unit to step up against RCB’s formidable batting lineup.

"We'll bowl first. Looks like a good wicket. We've seen the conditions don't change much. We're all about reducing our unforced errors. We'll try to fine-tune the areas that need it. Kagiso misses out due to personal reasons so we've got Arshad Khan back" Gill Added.

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal

Gujarat Titans Impact Subs: Sherfane Rutherford, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Washington Sundar

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs: Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh.