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RCB Vs GT, IPL 2026 Qualifier 1: Is Phil Salt Playing Today In Dharamsala?

Phil Salt’s fitness had become one of the biggest talking points around Royal Challengers Bengaluru after the opener recently returned from England following treatment on his injured finger

Phil Salt plays a shot during the Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants in Bengaluru, India. | Photo: AP/Aijaz Rahi
Summary
  • GT won toss, elected to field against RCB

  • No Phil Salt in Royal Challengers Bengaluru team

  • For Titans, Kulwant Khejroliya came in place of Arshad Khan

Phil Salt did not find a place in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) playing XI or impact substitute list for the all-important Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans (GT) at Dharamsala in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Tuesday (May 26).

Salt’s fitness had become one of the biggest talking points around the Bengaluru-based franchise after the England wicketkeeper-batter recently returned from England following treatment on his injured finger. Asked about Salt's availability on match eve, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar did not provide a definitive answer but confirmed that the English batter had resumed training activities with the squad.

"He is fit and doing drills but we have not decided the playing XI yet," Patidar had said in the pre-match conference. But the think tank decided against going with the English opener, eventually.

Meanwhile, GT skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first. Left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya came in place of Arshad Khan in the Titans' XI.

Gill cited the likelihood of dew later in the evening as his reason for the decision to field. Patidar said he would have bowled first too, but added that he expected the surface to play similarly across the 40 overs.

RCB Vs GT, IPL 2026 Qualifier 1: Playing XIs

Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Substitutes: Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox

Gujarat Titans Impact Substitutes: Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Sai Kishore

The winner of this match will advance to the May 31 final, while the losing side will head to Qualifier 2 on May 29.

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