Is Mustafizur Rahman playing today’s DC vs GT IPL 2025 match?
Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman features in the Delhi Capitals (DC) playing XI straightaway after joining the squad ahead of their IPL 2025 match against the Gujarat Titans (GT). The Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi is hosting the encounter on Sunday, May 18.
Mustafizur was initially not part of the DC squad, but was roped in as a replacement for Mitchell Starc, who made himself unavailable for the remainder of the season. The Bangladesh speedster will join T Natarajan and likely Dushmantha Chameera in the pace department for the Capitals' game against the Titans.
Mustafizur Rahman previously played for DC in 2022 and 2023 before representing Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last year. He then did not find any takers at the mega auction and went unsold.
Mitchell Starc's absence opened up an opportunity for him in IPL 2025. Across 58 IPL games, Mustafizur has picked up 61 wickets at an average of 28.89, with 4/29 being his best figures.
"Vipraj is back for Madhav and Mustafizur is in for Starc"- DC captain Axar Patel on changes in playing XI for IPL 2025 clash vs GT
GT captain Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to field first in the contest, considering the dew factor in the second innings. DC skipper Axar Patel also echoed Gill's views and said:
"I also wanted to bowl since dew can play a factor. But the toss is not in our hand so we'll look to play good cricket. We have three games left and we want to take it one game at a time, that's our mindset. We haven't played well over the last three games but we're still in a strong position. We're not thinking of qualification but just trying to play well."
"The guys who have come in, I've told him they're mentally fresh and whoever can give 100 per cent, I want that. With one win, we'll get momentum and we can carry that forward.. Same combination of three fast-bowlers and three spinners - Vipraj is back for Madhav and Mustafizur is in for Starc," Axar added.
Here are the combinations of both teams for today's IPL 2025 game:
Delhi Capitals XI: Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, Sameer Rizvi, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mustafizur Rahman.
Impact subs: Dushmantha Chameera, Sediqullah Atal, Karun Nair, Triuparna Vijay, Madhav Tiwari.
Gujarat Titans XI: Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
Impact subs: Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Dasun Shanaka.