The 34-year-old, who is back in the IPL after a two-season absence following a ₹7-crore signing, had not yet been included in the playing XI.
Gujarat Titans endured a disappointing result in their previous outing, suffering a heavy 99-run defeat to Mumbai Indians.
Rajat Patidar-led RCB have played six matches so far, registering four wins and two losses.
JioHotstar in India will stream the IPL 2026 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans on its app and website.
Gujarat Titans suffered a heavy setback in their previous outing, going down by 99 runs against Mumbai Indians.
In-form Virat Kohli's battle against Gujarat Titans' new-ball pair of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada could shape the outcome of a crucial IPL 2026 encounter
Elsewhere in the competition, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) victory over Delhi Capitals helped them rise to fourth place in the standings, while DC slipped to fifth.
Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings continue to lead the points table in IPL 2026 with their six-match unbeaten run
Young Mumbai Indians pacer Ashwani Kumar said he worked diligently on his yorkers and swing while waiting patiently for an opportunity, making the most of it with a four-wicket haul against Gujarat Titans. After Tilak Varma's 101 off 45 balls powered Mumbai Indians to 199 for 5, Ashwani, playing his first game of the season, returned figures of four for 24 as the visitors bowled out Gujarat Titans for 100 in 15.5 overs. "I was working on my yorker, on my swing. I was just waiting. Whenever I got a chance, I would do well. Otherwise, I was going to the temple. That's all I was doing," the 24-year-old said during the post-match press conference. "I had seen the batsmen before, how they play, but when I went in and saw them, I did what the wicket demanded. We discussed it with the captain and tried to execute accordingly. "It's a black-soil pitch, so we knew the ball would keep a bit low. In the first innings, the ball was moving a bit here and there. So our plan was to hit the right
Gujarat Titans' batting coach Matthew Hayden was scathing about their 99-run defeat to Mumbai Indians, blaming a "horror" batting display and poor death bowling for the heavy loss in the IPL. From being 44/3 in 5.5 overs, MI hammered 73 runs in the last four overs to post a challenging 199/5 here on Monday. In reply, GT were bundled out for 100. "I expect our margins to be a lot smaller than 100 (99). That is an unacceptable scorecard for our batting unit," the legendary Australian opener told media in the post-match interaction. "It was just a horrible day for us today. Truth be told, there was nothing good about this day, really, apart from Rabada's performance with the ball. so we've got some work to do, definitely." GT boast a strong batting line-up in Sai Sudharsan (759 runs), Shubman Gill (717), and Jos Buttler (538). They have also added New Zealand's explosive Glenn Phillips in the middle order alongside Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia. "When you look down at our batting .
Back to winning ways after four defeats in a row, a happy Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya said he always had faith in Tilak Varma's talent and it was about time the Hyderabad man delivered as per his potential, like he did in the 99-run victory over Gujarat Titans on Monday. Tilak played a stunning knock of an unbeaten 101 off 45 balls. After being 19 off 22, he got an earful from his skipper during the second strategic time-out, and things changed rapidly from there. "The message I think, I realised that the kind of talent Tilak has, he really doesn't have to worry. So my message to him was just watch the ball and hit the ball. Was about time he came out and delivered. It was much needed for Tilak, the group and Mumbai Indians," Pandya said after the match here on Monday. This was the first time MI won in Ahmedabad and Pandya believes this could be "The Match" when it starts falling in place for his side. "It's always challenging to go away and win but at the same time Ahmeda
Tilak took 33 balls to reach his fifty and then scored the next fifty runs in just 13 balls to complete his ton
IPL 2026 HIGHLIGHTS: Tilak Varma scored an unbeaten 101 off just 35 balls before Ashwani Kumar wreaked havoc with his four-fer to help MI beat GT by 99 runs
JioHotstar in India will stream the IPL 2026 match between the Gujarat Titans and the Mumbai Indians through their app and website
In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah's wicketless run across five matches has been a setback for MI, with other pacers also failing to make regular breakthroughs.
Shubman Gill-led GT will be hoping to get back into the top four in the points table with a win over struggling MI at home
Five-time champions Mumbai Indians will be desperate to snap their four-match winless streak in IPL 2026 when they take on Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad
SRH's Heinrich Klaasen is leading the Orange Cap leaderboard of IPL 2026 at the moment, while CSK's Anshul Kamboj is leading the top wicket-takers' chart
Esterhuizen made his T20I debut for South Africa against New Zealand in a five-match series held last month.
Gill's 86 helped Gujarat chase down 181 in Ahmedabad as they climb to 4th in the points table tonight.