Nehra-Gill’s selection & tactical blunders cost Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings win IPL 2026 opener

Gujarat Titans (GT) were a blunder machine in Mullanpur. Facing last year’s finalists, Punjab Kings (PBKS), in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener, GT captain Shubman Gill and head coach Ashish Nehra made a mistake on every front.

Sai Kishore’s shocking snub

Even before the match started in New Chandigarh, GT were already lagging in the game. For whatever reason, Prasidh Krishna wasn’t in the starting team. Ashok Sharma, who was yet to make his IPL debut, was picked ahead of him. And guess what? Sai Kishore, their best spinner and second-highest wicket-taker, wasn’t even in the team.

Rashid Khan was great against PBKS, but last year, Kishore was miles ahead of the Afghanistan leg-spinner. The latter was the sixth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament and had a better economy, strike rate, and average than Rashid. He played 2 fewer matches and took 10 more wickets. And all of a sudden, he’s benched with Jayant Yadav picked ahead of him. Make it make sense.

Relentless backing of Rahul Tewatia

One can’t understand on what basis Rahul Tewatia continues to play. He hasn’t bowled in the IPL since 2023. Last year, he averaged just 12.37, scoring 99 runs in 12 innings. The last time he averaged over 30 with the bat was in 2022. For how long will GT back him?

The misuse of Prasidh Krishna

As mentioned above, Prasidh was in the impact subs list. But, if you hadn’t checked the scorecard, you’d believe that GT hadn’t brought him in. After the powerplay, PBKS was 55/1. In the next 4 overs, they scored 33 runs and lost 1 wicket. But Prasidh didn’t bowl. Ashok went for 13 runs in the 11th over, but Gill still didn’t hand him the ball.

Imagine they held back Prasidh, it was a plan to use him with old ball yeah right!

— Nikhil (@CricCrazyNIKS) March 31, 2026

At last, in the 13th over, he was introduced. PBKS needed just 53 from 48 to win. The question was, why even give him the ball? Let him bowl in the next match against the Chennai Super Kings on April 3. Rashid had already bowled out by then; just 8 overs remained.

How rigid can one be? You are willing to lose, but not change your tactics? And guess what Prasidh did? He took the wicket of Shreyas Iyer on his first ball and gave up just 3 in the over. Washington Sundar took a wicket in the next over, and then Prasidh sent Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis back in his second over.

But it wasn’t enough. Cooper Connolly was well set, and Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett did enough to get PBKS across the line in the last over. Prasidh’s spell, however great it was, was useless. Not because of what he did, but how poor his usage and GT’s tactics were.

It was as if Prasidh didn’t take 25 wickets, the most last season. How can you not go to your best bowler when you need wickets? The guy who was the best middle-phase bowler last year. It’s really head-scratching. As an avid cricket watcher, it’s almost satisfying to watch GT lose today, because you don’t deserve to win when you make schoolboy errors like this.

The post Nehra-Gill’s selection & tactical blunders cost Gujarat Titans, Punjab Kings win IPL 2026 opener appeared first on Inside Sport India.