Gujarat Titans director says team deserved credit for reaching final, reveals Nishant Sindhu’s promotion was a tactical call by Ashish Nehra

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Vikram Solanki has praised Gujarat Titans for an outstanding IPL 2026 campaign despite their defeat in the final, insisting the team has plenty to be proud of even after missing out on the title.

Speaking after GT’s loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Solanki congratulated the champions and acknowledged that RCB had been the best side in the competition.

“RCB finished at the top of the table and beat us twice in the playoffs. We have to acknowledge that,” Solanki said. “We would have liked to go one step further, but there are many teams that would gladly have taken our place in the final.”

GT’s road to the title clash became more difficult after their defeat to RCB in Qualifier 1, forcing them to play three matches in five days. However, Solanki refused to use fatigue, travel schedules or weather disruptions as excuses.

“The schedule was challenging, but that’s not why we lost,” he said. “RCB were the better team on the day, and we must be gracious enough to accept that.”

Questions about Gujarat’s dependence on their top-order also surfaced after the final. The opening pair of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan once again carried much of the batting responsibility, with both players scoring more than 700 runs during the season.

Solanki dismissed criticism that GT relied too heavily on their leading batters, pointing out that a team does not reach an IPL final without sustained contributions across the squad.

One of the talking points from the final was the decision to send young allrounder Nishant Sindhu to No. 3 after the early dismissals of Gill and Sudharsan. Solanki revealed that the move was not pre-planned and was instead a tactical decision made by head coach Ashish Nehra during the match.

“That was a judgment call,” Solanki explained. “Ashish made the decision at that moment. It wasn’t something we had discussed beforehand.”

Reflecting on the defeat, Solanki felt GT slightly misread the conditions in Ahmedabad and believed a score around 180 would have been highly competitive on the surface.

He also acknowledged the influence of Virat Kohli, whose composed innings guided RCB’s chase in front of a crowd that overwhelmingly supported the Bengaluru side.

“We’re all privileged to watch players like Virat,” Solanki said. “He played a great innings for his team. But right now, I’m not celebrating it.”

Despite the disappointment of falling at the final hurdle, GT’s management remains proud of a campaign that saw the franchise reach another IPL final and establish itself once again among the league’s strongest teams.