IPL 2026: Skipper Parag Out, Hetmyer In As Jaiswal-led RR Opt To Bowl Against GT

IPL 2026: Skipper Parag out, Hetmyer in as Jaiswal-led RR opt to bowl against GT (Image Source: IANS)

Indian Premier League: Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bowl against Gujarat Titans in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 encounter here at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday.

Yashasvi Jaiswal is leading the home team in the absence of regular skipper Riyan Parag, who has been sidelined after pulling his hamstring during the team’s previous outing.

Rajasthan Royals head into the clash looking to bounce back after a seven-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals. After winning four of their opening five matches, RR’s campaign has slowed, with three defeats in their last five outings. Led by Riyan Parag, the Royals currently sit fourth on the points table with 12 points from 10 games.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans arrive in strong form after registering three successive wins over Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings, respectively. The Titans are fifth with 12 points and can break into the top four with a victory.

Historically, Gujarat Titans have enjoyed the upper hand in this rivalry, winning six of the nine meetings between the two sides. However, Rajasthan Royals claimed victory in their most recent encounter on April 4.

Winning the toss, RR’s stand-in skipper Jaiswal said, “We are going to bowl first. I think the wicket is pretty good and we want to chase it. Riyan pulled his hamstring last game, so I feel he'll be coming back soon. Shimron Hetmyer comes in and Yash Raj Punja comes in. That's the two guys who have been coming in. I'm really excited, looking forward to the game.”

Meanwhile, GT captain Shubman Gill said, “We would have bowled first as well honestly. We have got one change. Prasid comes back in place of Manav Suthar. I think it's important to look back at your strengths as a batting group or as a bowling group. What are the things that has got us so much success as a team. So, there were some areas that, you know, we went back and we reflected. Most of the games that we have played there have been pretty close. So, it's all about doing that extra effort, putting that, you know, if something is going well for you, having the belief to be able to have that execution. Yeah, I mean, we're going to see how the first couple of overs, 2-3 overs go. There's obviously a par score and then you want to get 10-15 extra on top of the pass score to give that extra cushion to the bowlers.”

Playing XIs:

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja

Impact Substitutes: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Adam Milne, Ravi Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja

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

Article Source: IANS