IPL 2026: Why is Lockie Ferguson not playing GT vs PBKS Match 46?

Gujarat Titans (GT) will take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) on May 3 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. GT are fifth on the table with five wins from nine matches, while losing as many matches. Meanwhile, PBKS are in stunning form, and are at the first position with six wins from eight games.

GT vs PBKS: Toss Update

Shubman Gill, captain of Gujarat Titans, won the toss and opted to bowl first, mentioning that the team is comfortable chasing and that their bowling unit has been performing well. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer, leading Punjab Kings, noted that there is some grass on the pitch and expects it to offer extra bounce due to the black soil surface.

GT vs PBKS: Lockie misses out, Bartlett back

Gujarat Titans made one change, handing a debut to Nishant Sindhu, while Rahul Tewatia has been moved to the Impact Players list. On the other hand, Punjab Kings brought in Xavier Bartlett in place of Lockie Ferguson, and Vijaykumar Vyshak has also been named among the Impact Players.

GT vs PBKS: What did the captains say?

Shubman Gill, GT Captain

We're gonna bowl first. I think we have been chasing well in the past few games and our bowling has been top-notch, so we thought we'll continue with the momentum. (Middle-order performing in the last game) Yeah, definitely in the last match, we spoke about our middle-order finishing the game and I think our Rahul bhai, batting in the middle, it was magnificent [to] watch and him finishing the game was exactly what we talked about. (What do you make of pitch?) Yeah, I think initially to start with there's something in it for the bowlers, particularly on this kind of a wicket. So hopefully we'll also see how it pans out. (What mark would you give the GT so far this season?) I think it's all about, especially in a tournament like IPL, such a long tournament, it's all about peaking at the right time and I think we are doing that. And I still feel our best game is yet to come, so I hopefully it's gonna be this one. (No changes?) One change - Nishant Sindhu makes his debut.

Shreyas Iyer, PBKS Captain

It (the pitch) looks beautiful. Some grass on the wicket and probably would extract a little bit of bounce considering it's the black soil. Pretty much unusual, but yeah we have played on this wicket before, but it looks beautiful. (Do you tinker with your side for tonight?) Yes, X (Xavier) comes in and Vyshak comes in as well in the bowling side. But apart from that, I feel that it's not frustration, it's just that you have learning in every game. And it's an intense league, honestly speaking. We travel, we have to come up fresh for the next game. So it takes a lot of efforts in the practice session as well. It's just that we haven't been able to execute the way we were supposed to, but it's just another game right now and we will see to it that we put our best foot forward and execute to the best of our abilities.

GT vs PBKS: Playing XIs

Gujarat Titans (GT):

Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (w), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Manav Suthar

Impact Players: Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kumar Kushagra

Punjab Kings (PBKS):

Prabhsimran Singh (w), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Nehal Wadhera, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact Players: Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Musheer Khan, Mitchell Owen