Here's why Jason Roy is not playing against Gujarat Titans at Eden Gardens

The two time champion Kolkata Knight Riders are taking on the defending champion Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It is the rematch of the iconic match that took place when Rashid Khan took a hat-trick and Rinku Singh smashed five consecutive sixes to win the game for KKR.

Both teams played probably one of the best T20 games ever played when they met for the first time in the IPL 2023, and the expectation is the same for the second game as well.

Both teams had contrasting performances in the ongoing season. Gujarat Titans are currently placed in the second spot with five wins out of seven games at a NRR of +0.841, while KKR is ranked 7th with three wins out of eight matches, and it is a do-or-die game for them.

But KKR is coming off a great win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the previous game, where they posted a huge total of 200 runs batting first. Notably, it was Jason Roy who scored a blistering half-century and made a 29-ball 56 in that game. But the star opener is not part of the game against GT, which is underway.

However, KKR suffered a massive blow when Roy was ruled out of the game on Saturday. He sustained a back issue and has been out. KKR skipper Nitish Rana confirmed it at the toss. Rana said, "We have had some forced changes - Jason Roy has a back issue, he's replaced by Gurbaz."

Notably, Roy has been in tremendous form since he joined KKR. He has played three games and has been the top scorer in all three matches for his team. Roy also scored two consecutive half-centuries in the last two games. He has scored 160 runs at a strike rate of 170.21, with 11 sixes. Apart from Roy, veteran pacer Umesh Yadav has also been dropped, and Harshit Rana has replaced him in the team.