Kolkata Knight Riders have dropped Finn Allen from their playing XI against Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL 2026. Captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed the development after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Meanwhile, Finn has been dropped on the back of a series of poor performances, as the New Zealand international has amassed 81 runs in five matches. With KKRโs top order struggling in almost every game, the team management considered bringing in a change as Tim Seifert replaced Allen at the top.
In the T20 World Cup 2026, Seifert wreaked havoc, smacking 356 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 166.32. He finished as the second-leading run-scorer of the season, but KKR preferred Allen over him, especially after his 33-ball century against South Africa in the T20 World Cup semi-final.ย
Meanwhile, the match against Gujarat will mark Seifertโs second outing in KKR colours, having played one match for the franchise in the 2021 season. However, he failed to impress in that match, scoring only two runs. In 2022, he joined Delhi Capitals, but again, he got very few opportunities to prove himself, scoring 24 runs in two innings.
Ajinkya Rahane explains reason for batting first
Historically, the Ahmedabad pitch is better for teams batting first, as the surface turns sluggish in the second innings. However, Rahane noted the importance of giving freedom to the batters and explained that it is for the same reason he had opted to bat first.
โWe will look to bat first. We just want our batters to play freely, with freedom. I thought giving that freedom to the batters and then defending the total would be a good approach. Itโs all about what you feel as a team and what you strongly want to do. As I said, the kind of tournament weโve had so far, we just want to turn it around. I thought batting first is a good option,โ Rahane said after the toss.
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ashok Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi
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