Former Indian batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Kaif joined hands to choose the probable playing XI of Gujarat Titans ahead of the upcoming IPL season in 2026. Both of them easily removed veteran South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada from the eleven.
Gujarat Titans entered the IPL mini-auction in 2026 retaining 20 players from last season. He then made five signings and four of them were nothing but fast bowlers. He chose two foreign and two Indian seamers.
One of their signings, Jason Holder, seemed to be the best selection. He was bought for Rs 7 crore, and the all-rounder then made major contributions to West Indies’ limited success in the ICC T20 World Cup. Tom Banton was the only backup middle-order batsman.
There is no discussion about top three- Cheteshwar Pujara
Former Indian batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Kaif chose the probable playing eleven of Gujarat Titans for the upcoming season of IPL. The pair surprisingly left out South African legend Kagiso Rabada.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Pujara picked Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarshan and Jos Buttler to definitely be in the top 3 for Gujarat Titans. He also favored New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips for a place in the middle order in the Titans XI for the entire season.
He said, “There is no discussion about the top three. Glenn Phillips is at No. 4, and then Washington Sundar is at No. 5 because they use him as a floater. So they would like to keep him at No. 5 right now and Washington will definitely be in the playing eleven.”
Pujara said on Kagiso Rabada’s poor form – I would like to play an Indian seamer in his place.
The former Indian cricketer picked Jason Holder as an all-rounder who can be used cautiously in a dual role by Gujarat Titans. Rabada was the only foreign seamer in the team until Luke Wood and Jason Holder were selected in the mini-auction.
“Then Rahul Tewatia is at No. 6. Tewatia is important for me, and I don’t know whether Kaif bhai would agree or not, but a bit of a strange playing XI, Rabada, because his form is not good, I would like to play an Indian seamer in his place, and you should play Jason Holder because his form has been very good. He can bat at No. 7, and it gives you another bowling option,” Pujara said.
Holder could be the third seamer in the IPL, while he will also have two frontline spinners in his team with Washington Sundar and Glenn Phillips to support him as replacements.
Jason Holder gets huge support at Gujarat Titans ahead of IPL 2026
Mohammad Kaif also supported Cheteshwar Pujara’s statement regarding the presence of Jason Holder in the probable playing XI of Gujarat Titans for the upcoming IPL season. He highlighted that the red clay of Ahmedabad can facilitate a seamer like Holder.
He said in the same discussion, “I agree with Holder because his recent form has been excellent. His bowling will be very useful on the red clay pitch there. He releases the ball at a height. You will get the option of Rashid Khan, Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan in the middle.”
He also said that Sai Kishore also cannot be a part of the frontline playing eleven. “Holder is there, and Rabada probably won’t play there. Sai Kishore may also not play initially. He is a left spinner. However, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj will play, and you can add Holder to that, and he will make it into your XI,” he said.
Playing XI: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarshan, Jos Buttler, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Jason Holder, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj.
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