Mumbai Indians Predicted Playing XI vs Gujarat Titans for Qualifier 2 of IPL 2023

The Mumbai Indians (MI) will face off against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 26, with a spot in the final against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on the line.

Rohit Sharma and Co. finished fourth at the end of the league stage and found themselves needing to take the long road to the summit clash. They crossed the first hurdle with flying colors as they hammered by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 81 runs in the Eliminator at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, May 24.

Mumbai faced Gujarat twice in the league stage, with the spoils being shared. While the Titans clinched the first contest by a comprehensive 55-run margin, the five-time champions roared back with a win orchestrated by Suryakumar Yadav's sensational century.

Here is MI's predicted playing XI for the IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 against GT.

Note: Playing XIs are bound to vary majorly in IPL 2023, with the introduction of the impact player rule as well as captains having the chance to name their side after the result of the toss is known.

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GT vs MI: MI Predicted Playing 11 vs GT in IPL 2023

Jason Behrendorff has gone wicketless in his last two matches for MI

MI have spoken about continuity as they approach the end of the competition, and they're not likely to change their personnel too much. They could consider one change in the spin department, though.

Hrithik Shokeen replaced Kumar Kartikeya in the side for the Eliminator with an eye on the number of left-handers in the LSG lineup. The off-spinner sent down only one over, which went for 18 runs. Assuming they don't play B Sai Sudharsan, GT are bound to have a rightie-heavy batting lineup.

So MI could bring back Kartikeya, who hasn't been in great form this season. The left-arm spinner will need to be at his accurate best at Ahmedabad, where run-scoring has been quite easy.

Nehal Wadhera came in as an impact player in the first innings, replacing Suryakumar Yadav. The unorthodox strategy didn't work for MI, with the batters above Wadhera having to rein themselves in and the southpaw himself facing only a handful of balls.

While Mumbai might be tempted to try out the strategy once again and give themselves another shot at sneaking in an extra bowler, they could go the conventional route just as easily. Akash Madhwal will come in as the impact player in the second innings if they bat first.

Chris Jordan and Jason Behrendorff haven't been at their best in recent matches, but the overseas fast-bowling duo are all set to be backed in the IPL 2023 playoffs.

MI's predicted playing XI for the IPL 2023 Qualifier 2: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Chris Jordan, Kumar Kartikeya, Jason Behrendorff, Piyush Chawla.

Impact player candidates: Vishnu Vinod, Akash Madhwal, Raghav Goyal, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen.