Gujarat Titans squad - (Source: AFP)
It has been three weeks since IPL 2026 kickstarted in Bengaluru. So far, the season has been marred with several injuries, hampering team combinations. Gujarat Titans are the latest team to be handed a heavy blow.
Notably, the Shubman Gill-led side have hit a roadblock as their star player has been ruled out of IPL 2026 with injury. The news has come on the day of GT's match against KKR at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Tom Banton Ruled Out IPL 2026
Talking about the massive blow, England star all-rounder Tom Banton has been ruled out of the tournament without playing a single match. For the unversed, IPL issused an official statement which mentioned that the 27-year-old has suffered a blow to his finger.
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The 27-year-old was roped in by GT for a whopping 2 crores at the auction. However, Banton last featured in T20 World Cup, before suffering the finger injury.
Connor Esterhuizen Named Replacement
Gujarat Titans were quick to name a replacement and have brought in South Africa's Connor Esterhuizen for rest of the season. Notably, the 24-year-old will earn 75 lakh rupees in his maiden IPL stint.
Talking about his early career, he made his international debut for South Africa against New Zealand in a five-match T20I series last month. Esterhuizen won two Player of the Match awards and also named Player of the Series.
Who Is Connor Esterhuizen?
In the above mentioned series, Connor Esterhuizen scored 200 runs in five innings, which included two-fifty plus-scores. Notably, the 24-year-old is based from Johannesburg and has been played domestic cricket for Lions since 2022.
Talking about his career with franchises, Connor Esterhuizen played for Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in 2023 in ILT20. Further, he played for MI Cape Town in SA20 and at present, featuring for Pretoria Capitals.
Gujarat Titans Season So Far
Shedding light on Gujarat Titans' season, they started off with two defeats in a row. Shubman Gill had also missed a game due to injury. However, things seem to be back on track for the Titans as they won last two matches in a row.
They now face Kolkata Knight Riders on April 17 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The teams is hunting for their 2nd title as they won their maiden trophy in 2022, their first season in IPL.
Shedding light on individual performances for Gujarat Titans, Shubman Gill is on a different level as their skipper has scored 165 runs in three innings, which averaged 55.00. Among the bowlers, Prasidh Krishna have been their best bowler and picked up 10 wickets in four innings.
Prasidh Krishna, who bagged the purple cap last season, is back donning the special cap this season as well because no other bowler has picked up more wickets than him.
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