Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag was harsh in his analysis of the Gujarat Titans' (GT) loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 24 in IPL 2026 and targeted GT captain Shubman Gill for showing a lack of courage in his bowling changes during RCB’s chase.
GT had been asked to bat first, and thanks to a century by Sai Sudharsan, posted 205/3 in 20 overs. In the chase, Virat Kohli, with 81, and Devdutt Padikkal, with a fifty, put on a century-plus partnership for the second wicket. However, once they both fell, RCB lost a few wickets in quick time before Krunal Pandya’s quick 23* rescued them and took them past the finish line with five wickets in hand.
Virender Sehwag questioned Shubman Gill’s tactical bowling changes, particularly in death overs when RCB were under a bit of pressure. Sehwag also brought up GT's late bowling changes, implying that Gill—who also captained the Indian national team—missed a chance by failing to make the most of the overs of seasoned bowler Mohammed Siraj, who had previously bowled a potent opening spell.
“When 22-25 runs were needed off the last three overs, and if Mohammed Siraj had come in at that stage and got a wicket, maybe it would have been 20 needed off 2 overs, and who knows what would have happened from there. They could have at least taken the game to the last over. The match did not even go till the final over,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
He further pointed out how the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan were available but not utilized properly.
“I think the calculations were slightly wrong from the captain there. Fine, Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan got hit for runs, but it is the captain’s job to bring them back into the attack. If you think that you cannot use a bowler because he has conceded 31 runs off two overs, then you have lost courage, right? That means you have given up. I think that was the mistake there,” he added.
Despite having key wicket-taking options available, GT’s inability to close out the middle and death overs effectively has become a recurring concern this season.
When GT travels to Chennai to play the Chennai Super Kings on April 26, they will now have to rapidly regroup. On April 27, RCB will travel to Delhi to play the Delhi Capitals.
