Aaron Finch is not playing: Kolkata Knight Riders have played a total of three changes to their Playing XI for this match.
Advertisement
During the 35th match of the ongoing 15th season of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans at the DY Patil Sports Academy, Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya has won the toss and chose to bat becoming the first captain to do so this season.
“We’re gonna bat first. The last game was a precautionary absence as we had five days break after that, so I wanted to get a week’s break. Better to bat when it’s hot and see how the surface is,” Pandya told Star Sports at the toss.
Pandya, 28, returning for all-rounder Vijay Shankar is the only change made for Titans in this match.
Why Aaron Finch is not playing vs Gujarat Titans today?
Much like Pandya, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer was also looking to take a rare decision of winning the toss and electing to bat first.
“Definitely [would have batted first]. Last game we played here, it was scorching hot fielding first and the wicket also looks a bit dry. The spirits are obviously high. We haven’t played really bad games, need to keep the energy and vibe high. Just a matter of one over or something brilliant coming from all individuals,” Iyer told Star Sports at the toss.
However, unlike GT, KKR have made a total of three changes to their Playing XI. Opening batter Aaron Finch, wicket-keeper batter Sheldon Jackson and fast bowler Pat Cummins have been replaced by wicket-keeper batter Sam Billings, batter Rinku Singh and pacer Tim Southee.
“We have few niggles, so few changes. Tim [Southee] comes in, Sam [Billings] comes in and Rinku [Singh] is in,” Iyer added. Iyer, however, didn’t provide clarity regarding who is suffering a niggle and who has been left out.
While Jackson could’ve been benched on form, one or both Australians might be suffering niggles. Readers must note that both Finch and Cummins have scored 65 and 63 runs at a strike rate of 196.96 and 186.36 respectively this season. Having said that, Cummins has been quite expensive in his primary job of being a bowler with his four wickets coming at an economy and strike rate of 12 and 23.7 respectively.
Playing his sixth match of the season, Billings would be looking to contribute significantly for the first time in IPL 2022. Meanwhile, Southee remains Kolkata’s second-highest wicket-taker on the back of picking six wickets at an average of 11.16, an economy rate of 7.58 and a strike rate of 8.8.
