IPL 2025: Spencer Johnson missing from Starting XI during KKR vs SRH Match 15 – Here’s Why

The Match No 15 of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League is witnessing Kolkata Knight Riders take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The two sides come into the fixture on the back of thumping losses against Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, respectively. Both the teams would understandably be keen on putting on their best.

Toss Update

SRH’s Pat Cummins correctly called and won the toss. He opted to field first. SRH would aim at limiting the hosts to a chaseable total with their bowling attack which includes the likes of Cummins himself, in addition to Harshal Patel, Simarjeet Singh, Mohammed Shami, and Zeeshan Ansari. On the other hand, KKR would be keen on posting a sizeable score on the board. 

Spencer Johnson not included in KKR’s XI; Travis Head to feature as Impact Sub for SRH

Spencer Johnson was said to have been replaced by Moeen Ali. The Australian quick was pretty decent in KKR’s encounter against MI, having conceded only 14 runs in his two overs. However, he was quite expensive in the defending champions’ opening couple of games. Moeen was extremely miserly in the sole game he played against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. With SRH fielding three left-handed batters including IPL debutant, Kamindu Mendis, Moeen will have a crucial role to play during his spell.

What did the captains say?

Ajinkya Rahane, KKR skipper

Looks good, I’m really happy with the pitch, we were also bowling first. It will suit our spinners, at home, you should get what you want, but we’ll need to assess the situation quickly with the bat. We sat together (after the last match), discussed how we can get better, but this is a long tournament and it was one bad day. Moeen Ali comes in place of Spencer Johnson. Regardless of all plans, we’ll have to come out and do well in the middle.

Pat Cummins, SRH skipper

We will bowl. Looks like a good surface, but I’m terrible at reading it. They outplayed us in the final (last year), but a bit of change in both sides. We’ve spoken about our batting, we’ve been at our best while being aggressive, but we can’t be reckless. He has been amazing (on Aniket Verma), doesn’t get unfazed by any situation. Coordination is the key (with the coaching team), but we do have a clear idea.

Also Check: KKR *7/0 (1 ov) (Sunil Narine 0(1) Quinton de Kock 1(5)) | KKR vs SRH Live Score

Playing XIs

KKR: Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy

Impact Substitutes: Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia

SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Pat Cummins (c), Harshal Patel, Simarjeet Singh, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari

Impact Substitutes: Abhinav Manohar, Jaydev Unadkat, Travis Head, Rahul Chahar, Wiaan Mulder 

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