Kagiso Rabada. | (Image Credits: X)
Gujarat Titans’ IPL 2025 campaign has suffered a major blow as pacer Kagiso Rabada has returned home due to personal reasons. A development regarding the same came out on April 3, Thursday, a day after the 2022 champions registered their second successive victory of IPL 2025.
The right-arm speedster did not play in Wednesday’s match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as Arshad Khan replaced him in the playing XI. Rabada, who was part of Punjab Kings in the previous season, was bought for a hefty ₹10.75 crore in the auction. He was expensive in the first game, registering figures of 4-0-41-1 against the Punjab Kings as the latter won by 11 runs. Rabada took another wicket in the 36-run victory over the Mumbai Indians but still conceded 42 in his four overs.
It’s unclear whether the 29-year-old will return for the remaining matches.
Virat Kohli flops as Royal Challengers Bengaluru crushed by Gujarat Titans in their first home game of IPL 2025
Meanwhile, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru didn’t enjoy a good outing in their first home game as they suffered an eight-wicket defeat to the Gujarat Titans at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Although Kohli fell for a single-figure score, the Royal Challengers dragged themselves to 170, headlined by a half-century from Liam Livingstone and contributions from Jitesh Sharma and Tim David.
However, Jos Buttler exploded with his 39-ball 73* to script a win for the Titans with 13 balls to spare. B Sai Sudharsan also chipped in with 49. Mohammed Siraj earned the Player of the Match award for his figures of 4-0-19-3.
