IPL 2026: Is Travis Head playing in GT vs SRH Match 56?

Published - 12 May 2026, 19:10 IST | Updated - 12 May 2026, 19:20 IST

Sunrisers Hyderabad are bowling first against Gujarat Titans in Match 56 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, with Travis Head not coming out to field. This has raised concerns surrounding his participation in the all-important clash as SRH are looking to maintain their dominance at the top of the points table.

Gujarat Titans' skipper Shubman Gill flipped the coin, with Pat Cummins calling it correctly at the Narendra Modi Stadium to opt to bowl first on a batting-friendly deck in Ahmedabad. Cummins explained that SRH unit has had a close look at the wicket and the conditions at the venue ahead of a crucial juncture of the tournament, where every game has become as important.

As it turns out, Head is not missing from the match. His absence from the starting XI is not because he is dropped, but rather because he is poised to be brought in as an impact player in the second innings. Head will be starting the game afresh and is the primary option of the five impact substitute names provided by the Sunrisers. He will have a point to prove when he comes out to bat. Both teams are unchanged.

"We're going to have a bowl first. We've not played here before, so have a first look at it with the ball, and then whatever we need to chase, hopefully gets a little bit easier later on. (The influence of data suggesting that teams batting first have won more games on this pitch) A little bit. I mean, there's always different variables as well. I think there's been one or two blowout wins where they've bowled them out pretty cheaply in the first innings. Yeah, you look at it all. It's still a bit of a gut feel. No one can really read pitches perfectly. But this is a crucial game and it's an intense time of the tournament.

"(On this game feeling like a knockout before a knockout) I mean, no, not really. I think we've kind of earned the right to give ourselves a few chances and make that final. So we've got three games left. We haven't played for a little while. (On GT having a superior record over SRH) Yeah, Abhi (Abhishek Sharma) just mentioned that in the change room. I said perfect, nothing to lose now. All the pressure's all on them. No changes."

"(On GT’s superior record over SRH) I mean, we're going to see about that. You know, I'm not the one about stats and all these things, but we were also looking to bowl first. But this looks like a better wicket than we have had in the past couple of matches on this particular wicket.

(On the mindset of the team) It's all about being consistent, being consistent with your thought process, being consistent with your execution as much as possible. And this is the last bit of the end of the tournament and it's very important to be able to bring your A-game and give it your best. We're going with the same team."

Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Smaran, Ravichandran, Pat Cummins (c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain, Praful Hinge

Impact Substitutes: Travis Head, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Harshal Patel, Harsh Dubey

Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (w), Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Nishant Sindhu, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj

Impact Substitutes: Prasidh Krishna, Sai Kishore, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Glenn Phillips