Gill had back spasms during RR game, but expects to play SRH on Friday

Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill was substituted out after their innings in the defeat to Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Monday night after "a little back spasm", but hopes to be fit for their home game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday.

He made 84 off 50 balls opening the batting as GT posted 209 for 4 in Jaipur, but did not take the field for the second innings. He was replaced by Ishant Sharma, who was brought on as an Impact Player, while vice-captain Rashid Khan took over captaincy duties. GT fell to a heavy defeat, with teenager Vaibhav Suryavanshi hitting a stunning 35-ball hundred.

Gill explained after the game that he was advised not to take the field by GT's medical team as a precautionary move, with a short turnaround before their next match. "I just felt a little back spasm in my back, and we have a game a couple of days after from this," Gill said before the post-match presentation. "The physio said [that we] didn't want to take a chance."

GT have won six of their first nine matches and remain well-placed to reach the IPL 2025 playoffs. "It doesn't matter for us what happened in the previous match, win or lose," Gill said. "We take one game as it is and the next match is at Ahmedabad and we have had a good run there, so hopefully we'll be able to continue that.

"They took the game away from us in the powerplay and credit to them for that… There were a couple of things that we could have done better, but it's very easy to sit out and say those things. Some chances came early our way. We couldn't grab those. But in hindsight, I think there are some areas that we need to work on as a group."

On Suryavanshi's innings, Gill said, "It was his day. His hitting was just tremendous and I think he made full use of his day."