IPL 2025: Why are Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje not playing in KKR vs GT Match 39?

Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje will not feature during the highly-anticipated clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens on Monday, April 21. The two were a part of KKR's XI in their previous game.

KKR come into this game on the back of a crushing 16-run loss to Punjab Kings on April 15. They failed to chase down PBKS's 111-run total at the Mullanpur Cricket Stadium. KKR have secured three wins in their seven games so far. On the other hand, GT have been in fine form up until now; winning five out of their seven games. Their recent fixture was a seven-wicket win against Delhi Capitals. 

KKR vs GT Match 39 - Toss Update

Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to field first. He spoke on how the Eden Gardens supports teams who chase as a justification to his decision. Rahane was confident on how his group of players were shaping up. Meanwhile, former KKR player, Shubman Gill, predicted dew to not come in and affect player later in the game.

Gurbaz, Moeen come in for de Kock, Nortje

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali were announced as replacements to de Kock and Nortje, respectively. Other than an unbeaten 97-run knock early on in the tournament, it has been a truly forgettable campaign for the left-handed batter. The ongoing fixture will be Gurbaz's first this season. Nortje's first game of the season was against PBKS where he recorded figures of 123 in three overs. Moeen is slated to provide an all-round option against GT, in particular with his off-spin against the opposition's southpaws.

KKR vs GT Match 39 - What did the captains say?

Ajinkya Rahane (KKR)

We are going to bowl first. Slightly on the drier side, when we bowl, we'll get an idea how it's playing. This is generally a chasing ground. We spoke after the last game. All the players are working really hard. We've made some errors but it's all about being positive. We are at number 7 now, the motivation for each and everyone is to go up the ladder as a team. Really positive about all the players. Not too worried about middle-order I feel 5, 6, 7 sometimes is a tricky position to bat but when it works well it really looks well. Couple of changes. Gurbaz comes in and Moeen Ali comes in as well.

Shubman Gill (GT)

I don't think there'll be any dew. If we post a nice total, it should be a good match. Our bowling, everyone has been contributing with wickets. we are looking to pick wickets and the way our bowlers have been controlling the totals has been tremendous. (On Rashid Khan) The skill-set that he brings along with his bowling and the energy that he brings on the field, any captain would love to have him.

KKR vs GT Match 39 - Playing XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy

Impact Substitutes: Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy

Gujarat Titans:

Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj

Impact Substitutes: Ishant Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Karim Janat, Arshad Khan