- By Namrata Vijay
- Tue, 31 Mar 2026 04:49 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
PBKS vs GT IPL 2026: Two skippers, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, will be aiming to score their first points of the ongoing season as the Gujarat Titans will lock horns with the Punjab Kings during their tournament opener on Tuesday. As far as Gill, who is also India's Test and ODI skipper, is concerned, IPL 2026 will give him a chance to seal his spot in India's T20I team.
Even though he was India's T20I vice-captain at one point, his struggles in this format led to his being snubbed from India's T20I World Cup team, a tournament the host won. As a result, all eyes will be on him to see how he adjusts to the evolving T20 batting landscape.
And for Iyer, he will try to bounce back from last year's disappointing campaign. Post guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title in 2024, he was let go by the franchise in the IPL 2025 mega auction, even though he was quite a successful captain.
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Following his release, the Punjab Kings acquired Iyer for a record Rs 26.75 crore to lead their team.
Will he be able to lead Punjab Kings to their maiden title this year?
Ahead of the clash between the Punjab Kings and the Gujarat Titans, here are five players who could decide the outcome:
Sai Sudharsan: The Gujarat-based franchise will be hopeful for a brilliant partnership from their openers, Sai Sudharsan and skipper Shubman Gill. Sai was GT's highest run-getter last year as he had scored 759 runs and made a brilliant comeback after recovering from a rib injury. He has performed consistently in domestic tournaments and has smashed a hundred and several fifties, suggesting he will try to repeat his heroics from last year.
After playing 40 IPL matches so far, he has scored 1793 runs at a staggering average of 49.80 and a brilliant strike rate of 145.89.
Shubman Gill: If he has a flying start, then he can take any bowling attack to the cleaners. Although he has been one of the tournament's consistent performers and is just behind Virat Kohli in runs scored since the 2023 season, there have been questions about his scoring rate. He had a dream run last year, scoring 650 runs in 15 matches at a staggering strike rate of 155.87 and an average of 50. Gill, who will try to make a comeback in T20Is, might bat more aggressively in the ongoing season. He has scored 3866 runs after playing in 118 IPL matches at a brilliant average of 39.44 and a strike rate of 138.77, which also includes four hundreds.
Shreyas Iyer: Iyer too will try to make a flying start to their campaign. He hopes to both win the match and perform brilliantly with the bat in their tournament opener. Post helping Punjab Kings reach the summit clash in IPL 2025, he will try to qualify for the final again. During his career, he played 133 matches, scoring 3731 runs at a staggering average of 34.22 and a strike rate of 133.34.
Priyansh Arya: He announced his arrival in style and became a regular opener for Punjab Kings. A prodigy of the Delhi Premier League, where he had smashed six sixes in an over, was the Punjab-based franchise's third-highest run-scorer last year. Along with Prabsimran Singh, he can perform consistently during the Powerplay and give the team a flying start. He also scored the fifth-fastest hundred in this tournament, off 39 balls, against CSK during his first season. PBKS are hopeful that he will repeat his heroics from last season.
Arshdeep Singh: After guiding India to another T20 World Cup title, the star fast bowler will be riding high on confidence. He was PBKS' highest wicket-taker last year, taking 21 wickets across 17 matches, and was also the sixth-highest wicket-taker overall. He can swing the ball during the Powerplay and will be the one player to watch out for this season. He has taken 97 wickets after playing in 82 IPL matches and is just three wickets shy of achieving the 100-wicket milestone.