'Don't want to take...' - Rashid Khan reveals why Hardik Pandya is not leading GT against KKR

Gujarat Titans are playing without their regular skipper Hardik Pandya in their ongoing third match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Both teams are playing this match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Star all-rounder Rashid Khan is leading the Titans in Hardik’s absence. Notably, Gujarat Titans are in a very strong condition during the match against KKR.

Meanwhile, stand-in skipper Rashid Khan has also revealed the reason behind Hardik Pandya’s absence from the playing XI. Rashid talked about the star all-rounder at the time of the toss just before the start of the match.

Don't want to take the risk with him - Rashid Khan on Hardik Pandya

"He is Just unwell slightly, don't want to take risks with him," said Rashid Khan after winning the toss and deciding to bat first.

"Looks like a fresh wicket, hopefully, we can put up a good total and defend it. As a team, we will try to play good cricket. We would like to bat well and put runs on the board," he added later on his decision of batting first against KKR.

Here’s a look at the playing of Gujarat Titans against KKR:

Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Rashid Khan(c), Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, and Yash Dayal.

Here’s a look at the playing Kolkata Knight Riders against GT:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), N Jagadeesan, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Suyash Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy.

Speaking of the ongoing action of the match between GT and KKR; the hosts have posted a total of 204 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 20 overs. The star all-rounder Vijay Shankar played a swashbuckling knock of 63 runs off just 24 balls with four boundaries and five sixes to his name. Other than him, Sai Sudarshan also scored a half-century ad contributed 53 runs off 38 balls with three boundaries and two sixes.

Apart from these two, Shubman Gill also contributed with a knock of 39 runs with five boundaries.

At the time of filling this copy, Kolkata Knight Riders have started their run-chase of the target of 205 runs in 20 overs.