IPL 2026: Has Gujarat’s biggest strength become its weakness? There is a hidden loophole in the pairing of Shubman Gill and Sudarshan

News India Live, Digital Desk: Gujarat team is facing a strange crisis in IPL 2026. Team captain Shubhman Gill and his fellow opener Sai Sudarshan are in excellent form, but this has also become the biggest cause of concern for the team. Statistics bear witness to the fact that the players who are opening the innings for Gujarat are also playing the role of their ‘finishers’. This ‘Titanic Loophole’ has given sleepless nights to the team management.

Middle order flop show, increased pressure on openers

The condition of Gujarat’s batting is such that if Gill and Sudarshan do not give a good start in the powerplay, then the entire team collapses like a house of cards. The middle order of the team is completely silent, due to which the openers have to play cautiously. He is trying to take the innings till the end by abandoning his natural aggressive batting. The result is that the team is left with no specialist finisher for the last overs.

Are Sudarshan and Gill the real finishers?

The surprising thing is that these two batsmen have contributed the most to Gujarat’s victory. But cricket experts believe that it is risky to expect opening and finishing from the same players. If both of them get out early in a big match, then Gujarat does not seem to have any batsman who can increase the pace of runs after the 15th over. Rahul Tewatia and other lower order batsmen have not lived up to expectations so far.

Gujarat will have to change its strategy

As the tournament heads towards the playoffs, Gujarat needs to make changes to its batting order. The tournament cannot be won by relying only on two players. Gill and Sudarshan will get the freedom to play freely only if there is a batsman lower down the order who can take the responsibility of finishing the match. It will be interesting to see whether Gujarat will give a chance to a new face in its middle order or will proceed with the same risky strategy.