Why are Spencer Johnson and Sai Kishore not playing IPL 2024 Match 12 between GT vs SRH?

Gujarat Titans are hosting Sunrisers Hyderabad at the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, March 31 in what promises to be an intriguing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 clash.

In the afternoon fixture, Pat Cummins won the toss for the Sunrisers and elected to bat first. Unsurprisingly, the former champions retained the same playing XI which helped them score a record-breaking 277/3 against Mumbai Indians in their last game and helped them win the encounter by 31 runs in front of their home fans in Hyderabad. However, Cummins' opposite number, Shubman Gill, announced two changes to his side which faced a crushing 63-run defeat against Chennai Super Kings in their most recent clash in Chennai.

Talented Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad has come into the side in place of Australian speedster Spencer Johnson. Meanwhile, right-arm pacer Darshan Nalkande has replaced Sai Kishore. Unlike Spencer, Kishore has gotten a place among the Impact substitutes but Sai Sudharsan will be the obvious choice to come in when Gujarat come out to bat in the second innings.

What did the two captains say at the toss?

Cummins reckoned that the pitch looked good for batting and said that the team wants to put a good total on the board. He said it was great to play in front of such a huge crowd in the same venue where he led Australia to the ODI World Cup title last year. Cummins said that record-breaking totals are not going to be scored everyday but his batters will try to get as close as possible to their score from the Mumbai clash.

Meanwhile, Shubman was happy to bowl first. He also agreed to Cummins' take on the wicket being a good one. He acknowledged the support he has been receiving from head coach Ashish Nehra and the Gujarat management.

Also Read: GT vs SRH, IPL 2024: Records & Stats at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Pat Cummins at the toss: "We are gonna have a bat, looks like a good wicket so we want to put runs on the board. Don't Know about that, but good wonderful memories back here and it's a packed stadium as well. We scored the highest score ever, we are very capable of that but it's not going to happen always. If we have a good crack, we might get close to it again. Same team for us."

Shubman Gill at the toss: "We would have bowled first, looks like a good wicket. Definitely have a lot of good memories to look back here and would like to make good memories going forward. The support that I get from Ashu Paa and the management is great. We have got two changes - Noor Ahmad comes in for Mitch (Spencer Johnson) and Darshan Nalkande comes in for Sai Kishore."