Gujarat Titans players were spotted wearing a new kit on Monday in their IPL 2023 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad leading many to wonder what the reason behind this shift was. Moving away from their usual dark blue jersey, GT players sported a lavender color kit in the match.

GT lost the opportunity to become the first team to make the playoffs in the ongoing IPL 2023 season when they were defeated by Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede last week, however, Chennai Super Kings’ defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday opened up another opportunity for GT to have a go at the expense of their opponents on the night, SRH at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday. They still top the table with 16 points in 11 matches so far.

However, what caught the eyes on Monday night in their last home game in the league stage, was captain Hardik Pandya came out wearing a lavender top at the time of toss, in a bid to raise awareness about cancer.

Lavender is usually the colour for esophageal cancer, however, it has been used for all kinds of cancer. GT is not the first IPL side to pull off the Lavender jersey with Delhi Capitals, then Delhi Daredevils, led by cancer survivor Yuraj Singh in 2015 taking the same initiative.

At the toss, GT skipper Hardik Pandya explained saying, “Yeah, it is a special initiative to support cancer patients.” Aiden Markram had opted to bowl first.

SRH only made one change to their playing XI for the match with Marco Jansen coming in for Glenn Phillips. On the other hand, GT rang in three changes in the match. Vijay Shankar who got injured in training earlier was replaced by Sai Sudarshan, while Dasun Shanaka came into the squad for his debut and Yash Dayal returned.

GT has another game to play this season which will be against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru on May 21. GT will have to win both matches to remain in the top-two.